We wanted to be researchers. We wanted to apply the scientific knowledge about education that was locked in our university professors' desks. We wanted to help children, families and schools to reach their educational goals without simply "being creative" or listening to psychologists, but actually DOING something effective. After achieving the best expertise by intensive practice in USA, we decided Italian researchers should actively fight the brain-drain by staying in Italy and work as pioneers.
Many banks, Institutions and politicians told us we were too young, too idealists, suspiciously weird: "don't you want to start your own private career and make some money?". Moreover, we were 30-something women: "don't you want to have a family and take care of your own kids?"
Yes, we wanted it all and we wanted it despite the economic crisis: isn't a crisis a perfect time to start fighting for more research and progress, for a change to more cost-effective investments to help families, hospitals and schools?
You can't realize such a huge project alone and we were lucky to find some amazing people working with us. So we created our own work/research opportunity through cooperation.
We are now 8 researchers spreading the science of behavior in Italy and working in the field of education, surrounded by more than 30 practitioners: we are helping 90 kids with disabilities and problem behaviors, together with their families, schools and doctors, and facing the needs of almost 100 students who are failing in school, from kindergarten to college. We just opened our third TICE Learning and Research Centre and we couldn't be more thrilled.
Always running, always struggling, always happy,
Francesca Cavallini (president) and Fabiola Casarini (director).
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