Il Dizionario Biografico dell’Educazione e la ricerca storico-pedagogica in Italia negli ultimi trent’anni

The article places the DBE in the frame of the research on the history of education\r\nin Italy and its evolution in the last thirty years. This development, which could be\r\ndefined tortuous rather than linear, was long affected by a neo-idealistic prejudice, and\r\nonly slowly was able to liberate itself from it since the 1970’s, when it opened out to\r\nthe more conscious methodology of the historical research and of the human sciences.\r\n This evolution is characterized by manifold needs: for more specific research\r\nissues, for a confident methodology, for sources retrieval and endorsement, for new\r\nresearch tools. Such needs have consequently been put into dialogue with the different\r\nfields of the historical research and, more recently, with the suggestions from scholars\r\nand research groups working abroad. The DBE is part of such development, since it\r\noffers a valuable research tool that not only fills an undeniable gap, but also represents\r\nan essential starting point for scholars willing to deal with such research field.