https://doi.org/10.1177/1946756718786325
World Futures Review
1–9
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1946756718786325
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Article
Introduction
The future is a central aspect of education.
Nonetheless, schools continue to be strongly
past-oriented. Although many teachers strug-
gle to help students think about their futures,
teachers themselves are often unaware of both
the theories and methods of Futures Studies
and do not know how to conduct a Future
Laboratory in their classroom. This article
presents the Future Laboratories organized by
-skopìa, a recently established start-up of the
University of Trento, in both lower intermedi-
ate and high schools.
The Difference between
“Future of” and “Future in”
As a first step it is useful to distinguish two
different ways to use the future, which we
label “future of” and “future in.” The first case,
“future of,” usually includes technical exer-
cises that require in-depth specific knowledge.
If one is interested, say, in the future of mobil-
ity, one should collect information on what is
happening in the automotive sector (from elec-
tric and flying cars to autonomous vehicles and
drones). The future of the educational system
is another example of “future of.” How should
the systems of primary and secondary educa-
tion change in the coming decades? What are
the active forces influencing their develop-
ment? Some forces are already quite visible
and indicate precise directions of develop-
ment: demographic changes, changes in the
labor market, or those of information technol-
ogy. Other forces are less clear and allude to
changes that may go in completely different
786325WFR XX X 10.1177/1946756718786325World Futures ReviewEmanuelli et al.
research-article 2018
1
-skopìa, Trento, Italy
2
University of Trento, Italy
Corresponding Author:
Roberto Poli, Department of Sociology and Social
Research, University of Trento, 26, Verdi Streeet, 38100
Trento, Italy.
Email: roberto.poli@unitn.it
Future-Labs in the Classroom:
The Experience of -skopìa
Chiara Emanuelli
1
, Rocco Scolozzi
1
,
Francesco Brunori
1
, and Roberto Poli
1,2
Abstract
During the past three years, -skopìa[EDUCATION], the educational branch of the recently
established start-up of the University of Trento, -skopìa, has conducted an extensive series
of future laboratories in the classroom, working in particular with students aged twelve years
old (second year of “medie inferiori”) and fifteen years old (second year of “medie superiori”).
Future labs follow an explicit protocol (initial and final tests, three major steps, respectively,
focused on the past, the future and the present). Teachers wanting to conduct a lab in their
classroom must attend a preliminary training course. Furthermore, all the labs are monitored
by -skopìa.
Keywords
futures laboratories, educational system, training course, visions of the past, jump into the
futuro, back to the present