New Pedagogical Objects for a New Elementary School. The Italian Experiences of Mario Mazza and Marco Agosti during Fascism

According to the interpretation of the cultural history of classrooms as “living cells of the school” and the “beating heart of the educational system” , an interesting field emerges for investigating the educational and social dimensions of pedagogical objects and the educational activities that took place inside classrooms from studying two Italian schools during the Fascist regime: the Royal Experimental Elementary School “Leopoldo Franchetti” in Rome and the Royal Elementary School “Camillo Ugoni” in Brescia (northern Italy). Both schools were vitalised by innovative teachers and were thought of as laboratories for promoting effective teaching-learning processes. The two masters directly involved in realising these initiatives, Mario Mazza and Marco Agosti, decided to trial the practice of pupil self-government and the use of active methods, in line with the main changes introduced by the International New Education Movement and the pedagogy of the Italian scholar Giuseppe Lombardo Radice.