STRENGTHENING UNIVERSITY TEACHING THROUGH FACULTY DEVELOPMENT: STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE GAP BETWEEN RESEARCH AND TEACHING IN ITALIAN UNIVERSITIES IN LINE WITH EUROPEAN POLICIES

This article intends to reflect on the current state of Italian universities, on new models and perspectives in an attempt to reinforce and promote attitudes and beliefs regarding various aspects of the role of the university lecturer, in accordance with the Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) adopted by the ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), in cooperation with the European Students' Union (ESU), the European Association of Higher Education Institutions (EURASHE) and the European University Association (EUA). In particular, the aim is to raise awareness of Faculty Developent activities; to establish an ongoing reflection and reconsideration of teaching strategies, with a view to making student learning more and more central.