Studiare-lavorando e lavorare-studiando all'università: il caso dei work colleges americani

Abstract

The article aims to present a peculiar experience inside the U.S. higher education system: a group of liberal arts colleges, called “Work colleges”, promoting the purposeful integration of Work-Learning-Service while helping to reduce the cost of education. This experience, although limited in numbers and inserted into socio-territorial contexts partly different from those of our country, identifying some strong pedagogical paradigms, that are always able to connect particular and general, useful and good, thought and action, person and community. The case of the “Work Colleges” appears really interesting in order to promote the educational success of each one, in a perspective not only of employability but also of human and professional fulfillment throughout the entire life.