The TASC learning framework for the education of “non-cognitive” skills - Applications in schools of all levels

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by James

The article examines how the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ draft law intends to introduce “non-cognitive” competences across schools of every level. By comparing literature from major international institutions, it highlights improvement needs: the targeted constructs belong to the cognitive system, and the concept is better reframed as “life skills.” It proposes using the Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC) learning framework, which has shown success in promoting thinking and problem-solving, with evidence reported from primary education and extensions to kindergarten, university, and adult training. Overall, it supports students’ development across the whole schooling spectrum through thinking, argumentation, interaction, and positive effects on motivation, self-esteem, and inclusion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduzione

2. Cornice teorica e riferimenti

2.1 Competenze non-cognitive e life skills

2.2 Il framework TASC

3. Applicazioni e risultati

3.1 Scuola primaria e sperimentazioni

3.2 Infanzia, università e formazione adulti

4. Discussione e implicazioni

The TASC learning framework for the education of “non-cognitive” skills: Applications in schools of all levels La cornice di apprendimento TASC per l’educazione alle competenze “non-cognitive”: Applicazioni nelle scuole di ogni ordine e grado Double blind peer review Citation: Imperio, A., Basso, D. (2022) . The TASC learning framework for the education of “non-cognitive” skills: Applications in schools of all levels. Italian Journal of Educational Research, 29, 92-104. [https://doi.org/10.7346/sird-022022-p92](https://doi.org/10.7346/sird-022022-p92) [Corresponding Author](Corresponding Author: Alessandra Imperio)[: Alessandra Imperio](Corresponding Author: Alessandra Imperio) Email: [alessandra.imperio@unibz.it](alessandra.imperio@unibz.it) Copyright: © 2022 Author(s) . This is an open access, peer-reviewed article published by Pensa Multimedia and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. IJEduR is the official journal of Italian Society of Educational Research ([www.sird.it](www.sird.it)) . Received: April 27, 2022 Accepted: October 29, 2022 Published: December 20, 2022 Pensa MultiMedia / ISSN 2038-9744 [https://doi10.7346/sird-022022-p92](https://doi10.7346/sird-022022-p92) Alessandra Imperio Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Faculty of Education, Bolzano (Italy) Demis Basso Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Cognitive and Educational Sciences Lab (CESLab), Faculty of Education, Bolzano (Italy) Universidad Católica del Maule, Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicologia y Neurociencias Cognitivas (CINPSI Neurocog), Talca (Chile) Abstract The Italian Chamber of Deputies recently approved a draft law that aims to introduce "non-cognitive"competences into the curriculum of schools of all levels. While the proposal seems to address a relevant gap, this article identifies some aspects for improvement by comparing documents in the literature from several notable world institutions. In particular, it highlights that the constructs included in the pool of these competences are part of the cognitive system, and the replacement of the concept of "non-cognitive competences" with the more appropriate "life skills" is suggested accordingly. In addition, the use of an innovative learning framework, Thinking Actively in a Social Context (TASC), through which the target concept has been applied successfully, is proposed. TASC is considered a valuable proposal for promoting thinking and problem-solving skills. In the primary school context in Italy, this approach has already been used for accurate experimentation, which produced significant trends. On the one hand, the skills of thinking (e.g., reasoning, metacognition, creativity), argumentation, and interaction (e.g., peer relations, autonomy) were developed. On the other, the project positively impacted also motivation, self-esteem, and inclusion. The same learning framework was proposed effectively in kindergarten, university, and adult training. In conclusion, the outlined proposal is a worthwhile contribution to developing the competences envisaged in the draft law for students at all school levels. Keywords: non-cognitive competences; life skills; thinking skills; TASC; teaching methods. Riassunto La Camera dei Deputati italiana ha recentemente approvato una proposta di legge che mira a introdurrele competenze “non-cognitive” nel curricolo delle scuole di ogni ordine e grado. Sebbene la propostasembri affrontare una mancanza rilevante, questo articolo identifica alcuni aspetti da migliorare, confrontando i documenti della letteratura di diverse istituzioni mondiali di rilievo. In particolare, si evidenzia come i costrutti inclusi nel novero di queste competenze facciano parte del sistema cognitivo e si suggerisce, di conseguenza, la sostituzione del concetto di “competenze

FAQs

本文研究的核心是什么？

本文围绕意大利拟议法案提出的“非认知”能力引入问题，分析概念定义是否恰当，并提出使用TASC学习框架来促进学生思维与问题解决能力。

为什么作者建议把“非认知能力”改为“life skills（生活技能）”？

作者指出，文献中被纳入“非认知能力”范畴的构念属于认知系统的一部分，因此更合适的表述是“life skills”。

TASC框架在不同教育阶段如何被应用？

文中提到，该框架已在意大利小学情境中进行实验并产生显著趋势，同时也被有效提出用于学前教育、高等教育与成人培训，带来思维、论证与互动等方面的发展。

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by James