Education in Italy
Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age, and is divided into five stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, and university. Education is free in Italy and free education is available to children of all nationalities who are residents in Italy. Italy has both a private and public education system.
In 2018, the Italian secondary education was evaluated as below the OECD average. Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and near OECD average in mathematics. Mean performance in Italy declined in reading and science, and remained stable in mathematics. Trento and Bolzano scored at an above the national average in reading. A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and schools in the south, that had much poorer results. The 2018 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study ranks children in Italy 16th for reading.
Tertiary education in Italy is divided between public universities, private universities and the prestigious and selective superior graduate schools, such as the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany. Bologna University, founded in 1088, is the oldest university in continuous operation, as well as one of the leading academic institutions in Italy and Europe. The Bocconi University, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, LUISS, Polytechnic University of Turin, Polytechnic University of Milan, Sapienza University of Rome, and University of Milan are also ranked among the best in the world.
History
In Italy a state school system or Education System has existed since 1859, when the Legge Casati mandated educational responsibilities for the forthcoming Italian state. The Casati Act made primary education compulsory, and had the goal of increasing literacy. This law gave control of primary education to the single towns, of secondary education to the provinces, and the universities were managed by the State. Even with the Casati Act and compulsory education, in rural areas children often were not sent to school and the illiteracy rate took more than 50 years to halve.The next important law concerning the Italian education system was the Gentile Reform. This act was issued in 1923, thus when Benito Mussolini and his National Fascist Party were in power. In fact, Giovanni Gentile was appointed the task of creating an education system deemed fit for the fascist system. The compulsory age of education was raised to 14 years, and was somewhat based on a ladder system: after the first five years of primary education, one could choose the scuola media, which would give further access to the liceo and other secondary education, or the avviamento al lavoro, which was intended to give a quick entry into the low strates of the workforce. The reform enhanced the role of the liceo classico, created by the Casati Act in 1859, and created the Technical, Commercial and Industrial institutes and the liceo scientifico. The liceo classico was the only secondary school that gave access to all types of higher education until 1968. The influence of Gentile's Italian idealism was great, and he considered the Catholic religion to be the "foundation and crowning" of education. In 1962, the avviamento al lavoro was abolished, and all children up to 14 years had to follow a single program, encompassing primary education and middle school.
From 1962 to the present day, the main structure of Italian primary education remained largely unchanged, even if some modifications were made: a narrowing of the gap between males and females, a change in the structure of secondary school and the creation of new licei, istituti tecnici and istituti professionali, offering students a broader range of options.
In 1999, in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Bologna Process, the Italian university system switched from the old system, to the new system. The nuovo ordinamento split the former Laurea into two tracks: the Laurea triennale, followed by the 2-year Laurea specialistica, the latter renamed Laurea Magistrale in 2007. A credit system was established to quantify the amount of work needed by each course and exam, as well as enhance the possibility to change course of studies and facilitate the transfer of credits for further studies or go on exchange in another country. However, it is now established that there is just a five-year degree Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico for programmes such as Law and a six-year degree for Medicine.
In 2019, education minister Lorenzo Fioramonti announced that in 2020 Italy would become the first country in the world to make the study of climate change and sustainable development mandatory for students.
Primary education
Primary school, is commonly preceded by three years of non-compulsory nursery school. Primary school lasts five years. Until middle school, the educational curriculum is the same for all pupils: although one can attend a private or state-funded school, the subjects studied are the same : the students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, and physical education. Some schools also have Spanish or French, musical arts and visual arts.Students usually start primary school at 6, but students born between January and March who are still 5 years old can access primary school early; this is called primina and the students doing it are called anticipatari. For example, a student born in February 2002 can attend primary school with students born in 2001.
Until 2004, pupils had to pass an exam to access middle school, which comprised in the composition of a short essay in Italian, a written math test, and an oral test on the other subjects. The exam has now been discontinued and pupils can now directly enter middle school without any exam.
Secondary education
Secondary education in Italy lasts 8 years and is divided into two stages: middle school and high school. Middle school lasts three years, and high school lasts five years. Every tier involves an exam at the end of the final year, required to earn a degree and have access to the next degree of education. Both in middle school and high school, students stay in the classroom for most of the time, so the teachers are the ones who have to move from one classroom to another during the day.In middle school pupils can go to school from Monday to Saturday starting school at 8:00 am and finish at 1:00 pm or from Monday to Friday starting at 8:00 am and finish at 2:00 pm but they might start earlier depending on the school's rules, while in high school they attend school from 4 to 8 hours a day, depending on the day of the week and on the rules and type of the school. Usually, there are no breaks between each class, but most schools have 15 to 30 minute break around halfway through the school day or they can also split it in two shorter breaks especially this happen in middle schools. If students have to stay in school after lunch, there's a longer break to let them eat and rest but the food is not provided by the school.
There are three types of high school, subsequently divided into further specializations. There are some common subjects taught in each of these, such as Italian, English, maths and history, but most subjects are exclusive to a particular type of school :
- Liceo
- Istituto tecnico
- Istituto professionale
Higher education
Italy has a large and national and international network of public or state-affiliated universities and schools offering degrees in higher education. State-run universities of Italy constitute the main percentage of tertiary education in Italy and are managed under the supervision of Italian's Ministry of Education.Italian universities are among the oldest universities in the world; the University of Bologna notably, is the oldest one ever; also, University of Naples Federico II is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation. Most universities in Italy are state-supported. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany.
There are also a number of Superior Graduate Schools or Scuola Superiore Universitaria, which offer officially recognized titles, including the Diploma di Perfezionamento equivalent to a Doctorate, Dottorato di Ricerca i.e. Research Doctorate or Doctor Philosophiae i.e. PhD. Some of them also organize Master's degree courses. There are three Superior Graduate Schools with "university status", three institutes with the status of Doctoral Colleges, which function at graduate and post-graduate level. Nine further schools are direct offshoots of the universities. The first one is the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, which was founded in 1810 by Napoleon as a branch of the École Normale Supérieure, taking with it its famous organization model. These institutions are commonly referred to as "Schools of Excellence".
Italy hosts a broad variety of universities, colleges and academies. Such as the University of Bologna which is, just like mentioned before, the oldest university in the world. In 2009, the University of Bologna is, according to The Times, the only Italian college in the top 200 World Universities. Milan's Bocconi University has been ranked among the top 20 best business schools in the world by The Wall Street Journal international rankings, especially thanks to its M.B.A. program, which in 2007 placed it no. 17 in the world in terms of graduate recruitment preference by major multinational companies. Bocconi was also ranked by Forbes as the best worldwide in the specific category Value for Money. In May 2008, Bocconi overtook several of the most well-known top global business schools in the Financial Times Executive education ranking, reaching no. 5 in Europe and no. 15 in the world.
Other top universities and polytechnics are the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, the LUISS in Rome, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Politecnico di Milano, the University of Rome La Sapienza, and the University of Milan. This University is the only Italian member of the League of European Research Universities, a prestigious group of twenty research-intensive European Universities.