Good Educational Practices for the Development of Inclusive Heritage Education at School through the Museum: A Multi-Case Study in Bologna

This article presents the outcomes and conclusions of a research work designed to determine and describe good inclusive practices for the development of heritage education in schools through museums in the city of Bologna. To this end, we applied a qualitative methodology through the study of four cases, four museums in the city of Bologna, selected for their good practices in educational programmes for schools. Instruments such as interviews, observation, and documentary analysis were used. The results emphasise a close school-museum relationship, with heritage as an agent that enhances people’s identity, a fundamental element in the citizenship development of Bolognese society, and a key aspect for the development of inclusive principles and the care of all people, although improvements in the processes and some limitations in the development of the programmes are perceived. The outcomes highlight the importance of school and museum relations and the development of an inclusive heritage education that advocates a holistic, integrative, and complex approach to heritage, as an essential element in the development of the individual and of society.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 following exposure in school settings: experience from two Helsinki area exposure incidents.

Background: The role of children in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is unclear. We investigated two COVID-19 school exposure incidents in the Helsinki area. Methods: We conducted two retrospective cohort studies after schools exposures, with a household transmission extension. We defined a case as an exposed person with either a positive RT-PCR, or positive microneutralisation testing (MNT) as confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein IgG antibodies detection via fluorescent microsphere immunoassay (FMIA). We recruited close school contacts and families of school cases, calculated attack rates (AR) on school level and families, and identified transmission chains. Findings: In incident A, the index was a pupil. Participation rate was 74% (89/121), and no cases were identified. In incident B, the index was a member of school personnel. Participation rate was 81% (51/63). AR was 16% (8/51): 6 pupils and 1 member of school personnel were MNT and FMIA positive; 1 pupil had a positive RT-PCR, but negative serology samples. We visited all school cases' families (n=8). The AR among close household contacts was 42% (9/20 in 3/8 families) but other plausible sources were always reported. At three months post-exposure, 6/8 school cases were re-sampled and still MNT positive. Interpretation: When the index was a child, no school transmission was identified, while the occurrence of an adult case led to a 16% AR. Further cases were evidenced in 3 families, but other transmission chains were plausible. It is likely that transmission from children to adults is limited. Funding: The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare funded this study.

TRANSMISSION OF POLIOVIRUSES

An attenuated poliovirus Type III strain (Leon 12a1b) was fed to six members of a summer recreational school program in a small community in the central part of New York. Transmission of this virus occurred to only 3 of 25 family contacts of these six children and to only 1 of 13 close school associates. In addition, five more casual school and neighborhood contacts became infected during the study period. Thus, only 9 of 100 family and school contacts of these school children became infected during a 5-week study period. The results have been interpreted to suggest that the attenuated poliovirus Type III strain (Leon 12a1b) is less invasive in open populations than the natural polioviruses previously observed. It is likely that the increased prevalence of Coxsackie B2 and B3 infections and perhaps other enteroviruses may have had some effect on the spread of the attenuated polioviruses. However, it seems unlikely that these latter two factors could have explained the striking differences observed.