The Education System in Italy

1. The Education System in Italy

2. Recent changes in the Education System in Italy • schools have gained a wide autonomy as for teaching, organisation, research and experimentation; • the gradual passage from a neat separation between education paths, offering mainly theoretical teaching contents, destined to the future ruling class, and paths aimed at an early professionalisation, to a unitary system that tends to postpone the diversification into education and training paths; • a gradual extension of compulsory education up to 18 years of age • the passage from the old concept of school assistance to the concept of “right to study”, that is the right for capable, deserving students without means to reach the higher study levels as well as the right to study for disabled students.

3. General structure and defining moments in educational guidance The education system includes at present what follows: • Pre-primary school(non-compulsory) for children between 3 and 6 years of age; enrolment can be anticipated at 2 years and 4 months of age; • Primary education for children between 6 and 11 years of age; enrolment can be anticipated at 5years and 4 months of age; • Lower secondary schoolfor children between 11 and 14 years of age • Upper secondary school made up of different kinds of schools and, generally, for students from 15 to 19 years of age. Access to both university and non-university higher education is reserved for students after passing the State exam at the end of upper secondary school. Vocational training courses are run by local authorities and can be attended by people who have reached 15 years of age.

4. General administration at national level • At national level, the Ministry is organised in 3 Departments MINISTRY (3 Departments) Department for ministerial planning and management of national budget, human resources and information Department for university, Artistic and music high educationand for scientific and technological research. Department for education

5. General administration at regional level The offices responsible for the State school administration are the Uffici scolastici regionali (Regional School Offices) peripheral offices with its own administrative responsibility . The Ufficio scolastico regionalecarries out its functions in connection with the Department For education. It supervises the implementation of school orders, the efficiency of the Educational activities and the standards’ respect; it promotes the individuation of the educational needs and the development of its offer on the territory in collaboration with the region and local authorities; it cares of the implementation of national policies for students, it formulates its own proposals for the assignment of financial and human resources to the Directorate General and the department for education. The Centri Servizi Amministrativi (CSA) carry out assistance activities, at the provincial or sub-provincial level, for autonomous schools as for administrative and accounting procedures; activities concerning the allocation of human resources to the single schools; activities concerning support to schools for planning and innovation of the educational offer and integration with the other local actors; activities concerning the support and development of school networks.

6. General administration at local level • Local administration includes Provinces and Communes, which have responsibilities in different areas and levels of the education system. Welfare measures include: free transport to school, canteens in or outside educational establishments which are free or subsidised, depending on the economic circumstances of families, supply of purchase vouchers for textbooks and financial grants.

7. Educational institutions, administration, management Law 15 March 1997, no. 59 grant to schools autonomy in teaching, administration, research activities, experimentation and development. For this purpose, each school prepares the Piano dell’Offerta Formativa, Plan of Formative Offer (POF), which is the fundamental document of the cultural and planning identity of the school. It must reflect cultural, social and economic requirements of The local reality, taking into consideration the local planning of the educational offer. The POFincludes the different methodological options, including those of Minority groups; it is devised by the Teachers’ Assembly (Collegio dei docenti) on the basis of general objectives defined by the (Consiglio di istituto), taking Into account proposals of organisations and associations of Parents and, as far as upper secondary schools are concerned also of students associations. It must be approved by the School Counciland it is available to the public and given to students and their family on the point of the enrolment.

8. School autonomy includes: • : • Teaching autonomy. Schools organise school time and teaching time in the way which is better suited to the study and learning rhythms; therefore, they can adopt the flexibility required: in fact, the annual number of hours for any single subject can be organised into separate modules; teaching units can be not necessarily structured into teaching hours; groups of pupils of the same class or of different classes as well as of courses of different years can be arranged into modules; subjects can be grouped by subject areas. • Organisation autonomy. Schools are allowed to decide how to use their teaching resources; schools can adjust the school calendar, established by the Regions, to the POF’’s requirements; schools can organise in a flexible way the overall timetable for the curriculum and for any single subject • Autonomy in research, experimentation and development is implemented as follows: through the planning of the educational offer and assessment research; through training and professional up-dating of the school personnel; through methodological and curricular innovation; through educational documentation, exchange of information, experiences and didactical material

9. Pre-primary, primary, lower and upper secondary education In Pre-primary, primary, lower and upper secondary education management and supervision functions are performed by the same bodies. Their roles and functions are the following: • The Headmaster (Dirigente Scolastico) is legally responsible for the overall management of the institution, of financial and material resources and for the quality of the service provided. • The Director of General and administrative services(D.S.G.A) supervises the administrative and general services of the school education and co-ordinates the pertaining staff. • The School Council is made up of elected representatives of teaching and non-teaching staff, parents and, in upper secondary schools, students. The Headmasteris an ex-officio member. The Chairman is elected from among parents’ representatives. The Council deliberates on the purchase, renewal and maintenance of school equipment and teaching material, library endowments and consumer material for classes. It approves the POF and, in keeping with the organisation of school life and activities, it decides on the use of premises and equipment, cultural, sport and recreational activities, cooperation with other schools

10. The Teachers’ Assembly (Collegio dei docenti) is made up of the permanent and temporary teachers from each primary school group or secondary school and is chaired by the Headmaster. It formulates the POF taking into account proposals and opinions expressed by parents’ associations and organisations as well as by associations of students of upper secondary schools. Furthermore, the Teachers’ Assembly periodically evaluates the general development of didactics to check its efficacy in keeping with the planned objectives, and proposes, wherever necessary, appropriate measures to improve educational activities. The Intersection Council (Consiglio di intersezione) for pre-primary schools and the Interclass Council (Consiglio di interclasse), for primary schools consist of teachers from all classes or parallel sections and by one parent elected for each class or section. The Class Council (Consiglio di classe) at lower secondary school level is made up of all the teachers of the class, four parents’ representatives, elected by and among the parents of all pupils in the class, and the Headmasterwho chairs the Council or delegates this task to one of the class teachers. Two student representatives and two parents’ representatives also serve on the Council in upper secondary schools

11. Post-compulsory education/upper secondary and post-secondary level Types of education Secondo ciclo dell’istruzione (second cycle of education) Classical education) (Age 14-19) Liceo classico (classical upper secondary school) Liceo scientifico (scientific upper secondary school) Liceo linguistico (linguistic upper secondary school) Liceo socio-psico-pedagogico (upper secondary school with a sociological-psycological and pedagogical orientation) Artistic education Liceo artistico (artistic upper secondary school) Age 14-18/19 Istituti d’arte (art schools) Age 14-17/19 Technical educationAge 14-19 Istituto tecnico (technical school) Vocational education Istituto professionale (vocational school) Age 14-17/19

12. Initial training of teachers Initial teacher training is still offered by universities; teachers of pre-primary schools and primary schools have to attend the laurea (Degree) course in primary education sciences, while teachers of secondary schools, after having obtained a laurea, have to attend a specific Specialization school, scuola di specializzazione (SSIS) with a limited intake. Teachers who want to specialise also in support to disabled pupils, receive an additional training provided within the ordinary initial teacher training infact students with special needs are integrated into mainstream education and specialist support is provided. The laurea in primary education sciences and the diploma di specializzazione qualify to teach and are requirements to take part to competitive examinations for the teaching places cattedre di insegnamento for pre-primary schools, primary schools and secondary schools.

13. Higher education There are two main types of higher education: university and non-university higher education. After the Bologna Declaration in 1999, the Italian higher education system has undergone a substantial reform. In accordance with Ministerial Decree n. 509/99, the degree university sector is now based on two main cycles (a three-year Laurea, followed by a two-year Laurea specialistica corresponding to a 3+2 framework). The non-university sector covers such fields as Higher education in the arts and music (Alta formazione artistica e musicale – AFAM), language mediation (Scuole superiori per la mediazione linguistica – SSML), higher technical education and training (Istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore – IFTS) and a few more. Applicants must have the upper secondary school leaving certificate (diploma di esame di Stato), or a foreign comparable qualification. Admission to the degree courses in medicine and surgery, dentistry, veterinary medicine, architecture is regulated by numerous clausus at national level. Anyway, as concerns other subject fields, possible selection procedure at point of entry is decided at institutional level.

14. Teaching and learning of Foreign languages Since 2003/04, a foreign language has been included as a compulsory subject from the first year of primary education from the age of 6 onwards . In the one or more final years at ISCED level 3, foreign language teaching is no longer compulsory, the situation depends on the type of education and/or area of study. Pupils at a liceo artistico do not learn a foreign language as a compulsory subject unless they enrol in an experimental class, for which the school may make the teaching of a foreign language compulsory. English is the most widely taught foreign language in primary education. French is the second most widely taught language. Two foreign languages are not available to all pupils but may be Offered within the flexible curriculum, and the second foreign language is introduced in lower secondary education. Foreign languages are taught in primary education by general teachers, who are qualified to teach all (or almost all) subjects in the curriculum, while specialist teachers are required to teach foreign languages in lower and upper secondary education. Teachers are qualified to teach solely foreign languages.