This research area (General Pedagogy, Social Pedagogy, History of Education, Experimental Pedagogy)  covers topics related to the development and the education of children from the early years, to learning over the whole lifespan (Lifelong Learning), to learning in different educational and experiential contexts (Lifewide Learning), and in a broader sense related to cognitive and affective-emotional interactions, values, cultural and intergenerational relationships (Lifedeep Learning).

Particular emphasis is placed on educational contexts that are formal (schools, in particular nursery and primary school), non-formal (families, play centers, associations, churches, and various cultural and educational opportunities in the region), and informal (popular culture, personal and mass media).

The specific focus on Lifelong Learning in South Tyrol includes:

• Study of the evolution of Lifelong Learning with attention to the system of training in the school-, socio-educational and social-assistance arena; description and documentation of this development; analysis and perspectives.
• Analysis of lifelong learning from early childhood through the whole life course, starting from Kindergarten and the non-formal educational system. Description and documentation of scholastic development (small village schools, catacomb schools, etc.); analysis and perspectives.
• Study of training paths for orientation and entry into the world of work and adult education. Documentation and perspectives for the future.
• Study of Lifelong Learning in the context of migration: dislocation of personal identities in different places, multiple belonging, different outlooks of life. Description and documentation. The future of South Tyrol society.
• Lifelong learning and the construction of a public space as a form of local and global citizenship. The future of the South Tyrolean society: representations and metaphors of citizenship.

Coordinator: Prof. Iris Nentwig-Gesemann