Active Learning and ICT in Upper Secondary School: an Exploratory Case Study on Student Engagement by Debating

The paper outlines the first phase of a three-year research activity on active learning in the core curriculum subject, intended as a possible solution to student disengagement in secondary schools. The paper presents the problem the research intend to attack - school failure, school unsuccess, student disengagement and early school leaving - and describes the context of the research, its originality, and the remedial measures put in place by the research team and policy makers. Among those, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers and structural measures to involve several stakeholders, including students. Then, the research design is given and the research tools presented, showing what dimensions are investigated. Finally, it provides the results on one of the four case studies carried out, namely the one on foreign language teaching.