This contribution explores the professional figure of the hospital pedagogist as a ‘director’ of care processes within pediatric contexts, delineating their strategic role and systemic competencies. Drawing from a qualitative inquiry, funded by the Next Generation EU program and conducted through a multiple case study at the university hospital “Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Meyer” (AOU Meyer) in Florence and major pediatric hospitals in Madrid, the research highlights the necessity for a pedagogical professional with inter-institutional and inter-professional coordination functions. The comparative analysis with the Spanish system, where the figure of the director of the hospital classroom is already institutionalized, provides a reference model for the Italian context, in which such normative recognition is absent. The research, therefore, defines a set of key competencies – planning, relational, organizational, and metareflective – that qualify the pedagogist as a promoter of holistic care. Finally, the paper argues for the need for both a ‘top-down’ institutionalization and a ‘bottom-up’ validation to integrate the pedagogical perspective as a foundational axis of the National Health System.
University of Florence, Italy - ORCID: 0009-0002-6327-9013
Chapter Title
Il pedagogista ospedaliero come ‘regista’ della Cura. Governare la complessità tra sanità, scuola e territorio
Authors
Marco Ceccarelli
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0943-4.12
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Formare professionisti dell’educazione, della scuola, della cura
Book Subtitle
La Scuola in Ospedale e l’Istruzione Domiciliare
Editors
Vanna Boffo
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
208
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0943-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0942-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0943-4
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0944-1
Series Title
Studies on Adult Learning and Education
Series ISSN
2704-596X
Series E-ISSN
2704-5781