 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Empowering Education: An Innovative Strategy to Combat Educational Poverty Through Cultural Care
Melania Verde
Full-Text PDF
XML 103 Views
DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2025.10.003
University of Messina, Messina, Italy
The Cultural Care project, supported by the organization Con i Bambini, targets vulnerable children and families in Italy, aiming to promote social inclusion through culture as a tool for personal growth. The project aligns with the fight against social inequality by offering educational and cultural initiatives designed to reduce social exclusion, foster intercultural understanding, preserve cultural identity, and support families in improving their well-being. Through this initiative, the project not only helps families facing hardship but also promotes dialogue, respect, and appreciation for cultural diversity, contributing to a more cohesive and aware community. Grounded in the capability approach by Amartya Sen (1999; 1985; 2009) and Martha Nussbaum (2000; 2011), the project goes beyond providing material resources, focusing instead on expanding individuals’ capabilities—their genuine opportunities to choose and pursue lives they find meaningful. Cultural Fostering offers access to relational and cultural goods such as educational experiences, museum visits, and participation in cultural events, allowing vulnerable children and families to develop creativity and expression. This approach is also informed by the concept of creative goods as discussed by Scitovschi (1976), who emphasizes creativity not only as an individual process but as a collective good that can foster social integration, enhance well-being, and promote intercultural interaction. The study explores how Cultural Fostering contributes to combating educational poverty, reducing social and economic inequalities (Stiglitz, 2012; Putnam, 2000), and breaking the cycle of poverty passed down through generations. By enhancing cultural capital, stimulating personal growth, and strengthening social bonds, the project supports the development of skills and aspirations while fostering a sense of personal and collective identity. In doing so, it creates opportunities for greater social participation, psychological well-being, and long-term improvements in the quality of life, ultimately promoting a more inclusive society where cultural pluralism is valued and celebrated. Research question: “How does the project contribute to reducing social and economic inequalities and interrupting the cycle of poverty passed down from generation to generation?” This theoretical study is both innovative and original, as it combines the capability approach with cultural nurturing to address educational deprivation and social inequality. The study is grounded in the analysis of a practical case study, which provides real-world insights into the application of these concepts.
educational opportunities, cultural diversity, educational empowerment, intergenerational educational poverty, socioeconomic factors in education
Melania Verde. (2025). Empowering Education: An Innovative Strategy to Combat Educational Poverty Through Cultural Care. US-China Education Review A, October 2025, Vol. 15, No. 10, 686-693.
Becker, G., & Stigler, G. (1977). De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum. American Economic Review, 67(2), 76-90.
Becchetti, L., Bruni, L., & Zamagni, S. (2010). From homo oeconomicus to homo reciprocans. Il Mulino.
Dewey, J. (2014). Experience and education (Cappa, Ed., C. R. Codignola, Trans.). New York: MacMillan. (original version published in 1938)
Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does empirical growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David and M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth: Essays in honor of Moses Abramovitz (pp. 89-125). New York: Academic Press.
Eurostat. (2015). Annual Activity report. European Commission.
Gui, B. (1987). Elements for a definition of community economics. Notes et Documents, n. 19/20.
Gui, B. (2002). More than exchanges: Encounters. In P. L. Sacco and S. Zamagni, Economic theory confronting relational phenomena (pp. 125-145).
Gui, B., & Sugden, R. (2005). Economics and social interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ISTAT. (2021). Culture and leisure.
Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. (2004). Toward national well-being accounts. American Economic Review, 94(2), 429-434.
Keynes, J. M. (1972). Economic possibilities for our grandchildren (1930). Essays in persuasion, the collected writings. London: Royal Economic Society.
Lane, R. (2000). The loss of happiness in market democracies. Haven: Yale University Press.
Liotti, M., & Musella, M. (2018). The determinants of child and educational poverty in Italy and the south. SRM, Fondazione Banco di Napoli.
Mill, J. S. (1989). Utilitarianism. Milan.
Nappo, N., & Verde, M. (2010). Volunteering, relational goods, and subjective well-being. Rivista di Politica Economica, 7-9, 363-393.
Nussbaum, M. (2014). Creating capabilities. Il Mulino.
Pugno, M. (2006). Economics and individual well-being: Notes. Department of Economic Sciences, University of Cassino, Cassino.
Rawls, J. (2009). A theory of justice (Maffettone, Ed., S. U. Feltrinelli, Trans.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. (original version published in 1979)
Save the Children. (2014), Aladdin’s lamp.
Save the Children. (2018). Swimming against the current: Educational poverty and resilience in Italy.
Sen, A. K. (1977). Rational fools: A critique of the behavioral foundations of economic theory. Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs, 6, 317-344.
Sen, A. K. (2000). Development as freedom. Milan: Mondadori Editore.
Sen, A. (2010). The idea of justice. London: Penguin Books Limited.
Scitovsky, T. (1976). The joyless economy: The psychology of human satisfaction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
SRM. (2018). Child and educational poverty: Territorial dynamics, countermeasures, field experiences. Fondazione Banco di Napoli.
Uhlaner, C. (1989). Relational goods and participation: Incorporating sociability into a theory of rational action. Public Choice, 62, 253-285.
Van Lancker, W. V., & Parolin, Z. (2020). COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: A social crisis in the making. Lancet Public Health, 5(5), e243-e244.
Verde, M. (2017). Corporate social responsibility between theory and practice: The social report as a meaning construction process. Giappichelli, March 2017.
Zamagni, S. (2006). Economics as if people mattered: Toward a relational economic theory. Working Paper No. 32. Aiccon, Forlì.