Citizenship education to promote inclusion.

The concept of citizenship, understood as a sense of belonging to the community, is strictly connected to the need to promote single individualities in order to carry out that democratic process by which all citizens, regardless of their geographical origin, of their identity and of their own value, can actively participate in the political and social life of the community in the full enjoyment of their rights. Respecting and welcoming "diversity" implies the recognition of differences but also of similarities for the development of relationships based on empathy and on the feeling of equality. Nowadays, citizenship education is an indispensable aspect of education which starts from school and leads students towards the accomplishment of conscious choices of social and professional life, in a lifelong learning path. Citizenship education plays an important role in fostering active and responsible citizens; this means teaching to develop: the capacity to approach problems as a member of a global society; appreciation of cultural differences; critical thinking; nonviolent conflict resolution; lifestyle changes to preserve the environment; more sensitivity towards human rights. These considerations highlight the close link between citizenship education and the topic of inclusion. This work aims to address these issues through the perspective of special pedagogy, providing methodological insights that are useful in the design of training courses aimed at building ethical-civil knowledge and values.