The Home Front: Early Childhood Care and Education during the Great War in Bologna (Italy)

Abstract

The First World War was an extremely painful period due to the «useless slaughter» that took place in Europe. Nevertheless, it also provided the opportunity to experiment with new forms of early childhood care, welfare and education; different institutions and collectives with their own distinct realities mobilised efforts and energy to protect children, especially those living in poverty and on the margins of society. Specific care approaches were developed in Italy for minors, particularly for those whose fathers were called to the front. Homes, «educatori», «ricreatori», camps, open-air schools and special schools not only represented a form of modern social pedagogy aimed at protecting children during the war, but also an opportunity to experiment with new educational institutions that were able to entwine different political and social agents and, at times, become innovative approaches to education. By analysing archive documents, ego documents, contemporary bibliography and unpublished images, this paper focuses on education services that arose in the care and welfare of children in the city of Bologna (Italy) during the Great War. These resources reveal not just sociopolitical issues but also those specifically linked to education that were implemented by municipal administrators, civil society and teachers—some of which would endure as modern welfare systems open to educational innovation.

Key words: History of education, First Word War, early childhood, child welfare, Italy.