Educare all'autonomia nell'autonomia

The paper presents the outcomes of a qualitative research conducted with groups of parents and teachers of nursery school about children's autonomy. Through focus groups, the author investigates the different social representations that adults have about the autonomy of children aged between three and six years. Teachers and parents have demonstrated to develop their own concept of autonomy, a particular symbolic representation, which influences the educational actions and the interpretations of children's behavior. If autonomy is meant to be a process through which every child can assert his uniqueness, it is possible to explore some basic dimensions: responsibility, confidence, self-evaluation, internalization, dependence into relationship.