Abstract
This doctoral project has three main objectives. First, it aims to engage with contemporary philosophical discussions on teaching effectiveness and quality through a hermeneutic reinterpretation of creative and imaginative pedagogies. To achieve this, the project adopts the framework of Imaginative Education, connecting it with current research on imagination across psychological, philosophical, and pedagogical fields. Second, acknowledging the importance of professional development for in-service teachers and the lack of systematic research on the applications of Imaginative Education (IE) in Teacher Professional Development (TPD), the project seeks to clarify the principles and criteria for implementing this educational theory in teacher training. To this end, a case study was conducted within a discourse community involving IE experts from Simon Fraser University and Capilano University in Vancouver. This study combined a conceptual analysis of relevant literature with a phenomenological hermeneutic examination of the experts' experiences, collected through interviews, focus groups, and participant observations of Canadian IE-based TPD programs. The findings identified criteria for developing IE-based training courses, based on experiences from Italy, and highlighted the significance of the IE approach in the current TPD discourse. The final objective was to explore the program's effects in Italy, particularly its impact on the beliefs of in-service teachers. An exploratory case study was conducted with eight teachers in a Bolzano school, utilizing qualitative and hermeneutic methods. Analysis of interviews and classroom observations provided a detailed account of the reflective processes and transformations in the teachers' beliefs. The study revealed the potential of the IE approach to enhance teachers' awareness and transform their beliefs about teaching effectiveness, educational goals, child characteristics, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. These transformations had meaningful impacts both individually and collectively within the school. Future research is recommended to further investigate the long-term effects of the program and its transformative consequences within the school context.