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Assessing the Experience and Impact of Learning Cities on University Students

Fabiola Palmiero, Giovanni Tafuri, Generoso Romano

Abstract

The Learning Cities paradigm has established itself as a key strategy for promoting lifelong learning, civic participation, and social development in urban contexts. However, there is still limited empirical evidence on the impact of such initiatives on those involved, particularly university students. This study evaluates an urban learning intervention inspired by the principles of Learning Cities, and its impact on participants. The research involved 120 university students, who were divided into an experimental group and a control group according to a pre-test/post-test design with a non-equivalent control group. The intervention, which was based on service learning, experiential learning and participatory co-design, was solely aimed at the experimental group. Quantitative data, collected using validated scales, and qualitative data, obtained through interviews, focus groups and reflective diaries, were analysed separately before being integrated. The results revealed significantly greater improvements in the experimental group in terms of transversal skills, civic engagement and psychological empowerment. The qualitative analysis highlights processes of transformative learning, strengthened agency, and the reformulation of the city as an educational space. This study contributes to the development of empirical evaluation criteria for analysing the educational impact of Learning Cities.

Keywords

Civic engagement; psychological empowerment; mixed-methods evaluation

References

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