Damiano Felini studied at the Catholic University of Milan, where graduated in Education, had an M.A. in Media Education and a Ph.D. in Education. He also studied at Babson College (Boston, Mass.).
Since May 2019 he is associate professor of Theory of education at the University of Parma, where he also teaches Media pedagogy and Epistemology of Education.
He was assistant professor in Education at the University of Parma between December 2005 and May 2019. He was adjunct professor of Media pedagogy and Teaching methods through playing and socio-cultural work at the Catholic University of Milan in the years 2003-2005, and of Media pedagogy at the Lumsa University of Rome in 2004.
He published the books: Pedagogia dei media (La Scuola, 2004), Media education tra organizzazione e fantasia. Esperienze creative in Italia, Austria e Germania (with B. Weyland, Erickson, 2007), La città dei nomi comuni. L'epistemologia pedagogica di Sergio De Giacinto (Unicopli, 2010), Teoria dell’educazione. Un’introduzione (Carocci, 2020) and Intenditori, critici, alfabetizzati. Storia della media education in Italia (1948-1996) (with S. Finetti, FrancoAngeli, 2026).
He edited the books: Primi passi nella media education. Curricolo di educazione ai media per la scuola primaria (with F. Ceretti e R. Giannatelli, Erickson, 2006), Video game education (Unicopli, 2012), Progettare la media education (with R. Trinchero, FrancoAngeli, 2015), Educare al cinema: le origini. Riflessioni ed esperienze di pedagogia dei media fino agli anni della contestazione (Guerini, 2015), La pedagogia come scienza e come poesia. In dialogo con Sergio De Giacinto (with E. Bardulla, Anicia, 2016), Il valore delle differenze: tra teorie e pratiche educative (with C. Di Bari, Junior, 2019), Cesare Scurati. Sguardi sull’educazione (insieme a P. Calidoni e A. Bobbio, FrancoAngeli, 2021), Letture di pedagogia. Un percorso antologico (Carocci, 2022).
His researches have been published on these journals: “Orientamenti pedagogici”, “Rassegna di Pedagogia”, “Studi sulla Formazione”, “Encyclopaideia”, “Journal of Media Literacy Education”, “Games and Culture”, “MedienImpulse: Beiträge zur Medienpädagogik”, “Media education: studi, ricerche, buone pratiche”, “Pedagogia e Vita”, “Aggiornamenti Sociali”, “Studium Educationis”. He collaborated on the International Encyclopedia of Media Literacy with the entry “Media Literacy in the Primary Grades” (Wiley Blackwell, 2019).
He participated research projects on the youth representation of the Internet; on the Italian TV watershed reshape (funded by the Telecommunication Authority); on the comparison between Italian, Austrian and German practices of media literacy for children and adolescents; on the state of media education in three regions’ primary schools (funded by Co.Re.Com. Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna e Puglia); on Cesare Scurati’s contribution to the innovation of Italian schools; on moral education of pre-adolescents (PRIN project). He coordinated the final step of the MENS interuniversity research project (Media Education in the School), aimed on building the new Media Literacy Education curriculum for the Elementary School; the interuniversity research project on video game education; the interuniversity research project on designing, documenting, assessing, evaluating and funding media education; the project Reconstructing the History of Media Education: Experiences, Personalities, Curricula and Theories, funded by the University of Parma.
He is a member of SiPed (the Italian Pedagogical Society), SiPeGeS (the Italian Society for the Theory of Education), and NAMLE (the National Association for Media Literacy Education – USA). Between June 2009 and March 2019, he has been member of the Editorial Board of the “Journal of Media Literacy Education”, and since 2013 of the Scientific Committee of “Media education. Studi, ricerche e buone pratiche”, for whom he was previously member of the editorial board. He is also scientific referee for “Studi sulla Formazione”, “Formare. Open journal per la formazione in rete”, “Journal of Media Literacy Education”, “Quaderni di Pedagogia della Scuola”, “Pedagogia Oggi”.
He won the 22nd “Raffaele Laporta” Pedagogy Award 2011 for the book La città dei nomi comuni. L’epistemologia pedagogica di Sergio De Giacinto (Unicopli Press). For Teoria dell’educazione. Un’introduzione (Carocci) Felini won the 2021 award of the Italian Pedagogical Society and the “Riccardo Massa” award from the University of Milano-Bicocca.
In addition to his disciplinary field, in March 2017 he also obtained the national scientific qualification as associate professor in the sector 11/D2 - Didactics, special pedagogy and educational research.
Research concerns: media literacy education; film representation of educators; moral education; adolescent education; epistemology of education; history of media literacy education; history of contemporary Italian pedagogy.
