Fostering democratic competences through reading: literature at school as a training ground for empathy = Promuovere le competenze democratiche attraverso la lettura: la letteratura a scuola come “palestra di empatia”

Competences for a democratic citizenship have been a topic of debate in recent years (Council of Europe, 2018; Italian Law 92, 2019; Unesco, 2015) and the role of education in promoting them is considered crucial. This research aims to investigate whether and how a specific democratic competence – empathy – can be fostered in formal educational contexts, thanks to literary fiction reading experiences. Starting from the phenomenological interpretation of empathy (Boella, 2006, 2018; Stein 2014; Zahavi, 2011, 2014) and the scientific evidence – which highlights elements of literary fiction reading able to support the empathic process (Cohen, 2001; Hakemulder, 2000, 2004; Keen, 2006; Kidd & Castano, 2013, 2017) – an empirical research was designed, to understand whether reading experiences in schools can be training grounds for empathy and whether there are factors facilitating (or hindering) this process. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed. Written texts of students (N=356) – looking at the relationship they established with fictional characters – were collected in 3 different schools (lower and upper secondary schools) in North/Central Italy, during the academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22, and were analysed with the use of a code-book. The data showed that literary fiction reading experiences can be opportunities for empathic competence training, but they also point out that this is not predictable, linear or automatic. “Narrative empathy” (Keen, 2006) requires effort, time, spaces for critical and reflective discussion (both intimate and with others) and texts capable of portraying the richness and complexity of human experiences. The mediation of the teacher is called into question repeatedly and the importance of specific disciplinary, pedagogical and reflexive competences – that are to be developed and unceasingly nurtured – emerges.