Educationin Italy
From nursery schoolto…..
Universityand more.
Organisation
Italy has both public and private education systems and
education is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age.
94,5% of Italian students attend state schools.
There are more than half a million foreign students, that is the 6,4%
Every year there are almost 70,000 new students coming
from foreign countries
( Morocco, India, Pakistan, Romania, Albania, Russia, Ghana and so on)
Stages
kindergarten (scuoladell'infanzia),
primary school (scuolaprimaria),
lower secondary school (scuolasecondariadi primo grado),
upper secondary school (scuolasecondariadi secondo grado)
and university (università).
Primaryschool
The scuolaprimaria(primary school), also known as scuola
elementare, is commonly preceded by three years of non-
compulsory nursery school (or kindergarten).
It lasts five years and the educational curriculum is the
same for all pupils. It was totally reformed some years ago
(RiformaMorattiand RiformaGelmini) and now children
leave the school without taking any exam.
Lessons are held from Monday to Saturday (sometimes to
Friday) for 24 to 30 hours a week, depending on the local
organisationand needs)
Pastand present
Subjects
History, geography and science
Italian,
Mathematics,
Natural sciences,
Technology and ICT
Religion
Physical education
Visual and musical arts.
Lower secondaryschool
It lasts three years ( from 11 to 13), and provides further education on the
subjects studied at the scuolaprimaria, with the addition of
Technology and a language other than English (usually French, Spanish or
German).
The curriculum is the same for all schools.
Italian, History, geography
Maths, Science, biology
English,(first foreign language) French or German (second)
Music
Technology
Physical Education
Religion (IRC) (only for Catholic students)
At the end of the third year students sit an exam, with written and oral
tests, which enables them to continue their education. Until the Moratti
reform(2003) it was called "Scuolamedia di primo grado“ or “Scuolamedia
inferiore".
Timetable
The weekly timetable, organized by discipline, is of 30
hours. Depending on the availability it can be extended
up to 36/40 hours per week of educational activities
and lessons with the obligation of two to three
afternoons.
The scuola secondaria di secondo grado
Uppersecondaryschool
The Scuolasecondariadi secondo gradolasts five years;
some Vocational schools (Istitutiprofessionali) before
the recent reform called RiformaGelminiprepared for
a professional certificate only after three years.
Tipesof secondaryschool
The secondary school situation varies, since there are several types of schools
differentiated by subjects and activities. The main division ( after the Reform
Gelminiin 2010) is between
the Liceo,
Classico high school specializing in classical studies
linguistico specializing in modern languages
dellescienzeumane specializing in human sciences
liceoscientifico specializing in scientific studies
liceoartistico specializing in Art
liceomusicale e coreutico specializing in music and dance
the IstitutoTecnicoor Technical Institute
the IstitutoProfessionaleor Vocational school
Any kind of secondary school that lasts 5 years, gives access to the final exam,
called Esamedi Statoor Esamedi Maturità.
This exam takes place every year between June and July and grants access to
University.
The Technical Institute
The IstitutoTecnico(Technical Institute) is divided into
ITT (istitutotecnicotecnologico, Technical/Technological
Institute)
ITE (istitutotecnicoeconomico, Technical/Economic
Institute), that is more oriented toward practical subjects,
such as jurisdiction, accountancy, tourism, metalworking,
electronics, chemical industry, biotechnology, visual
communication, fashion and food industry, construction
management and geotechnics.
The Istituto professionale
The vocationalschool
The IstitutoProfessionaleoffers a form of secondary
education oriented towards practical subjects and
enables the students to start looking for a job as soon
as they have completed their studies even more
specific in terms of vocational course offerings than the
IstitutoTecnico.
The new vocationalschool
Up to the introduction of this reform, vocational
schools were divided into five areas with 27 types of
orientation, while the recent reform divided them
into two macro-sectors with 6 types of orientation.
Compared to the technical institutes vocational
schools can have more autonomy, however, from 25%
of the teaching time in the first year up to 40% in the
fifth.
Periods are reduced to 32 per week
Typesof vocationalschool
Settore dei servizi:
Servizi per l’agricoltura e lo sviluppo rurale; professionalservicesfor
Agricultureand RuralDevelopment
Servizi socio-sanitari; professionalservicesfor Social healthcare.
Servizi per l’enogastronomia e l’ospitalità alberghiera; professionalservices
for Food, wineand hotel hospitality
Servizi commerciali; Professional Business Services for Trade
Settore industria e artigianato: Produzioni industriali e artigianali;
industryand handy-craftsector
Manutenzione e assistenza tecnica; Maintenanceand Technical Support
Tertiaryeducationor university
The “3+2” university reform (1999) has changed the traditional framework
of Italian university qualifications prospective
Students with a secondary school diploma are asked to pass an entry test
which is mandatory in most faculties. They can get different titles:
Higher education or Laurea(Bachelor's degree)
Diploma accademicodi primo livello(a 3 year course)
For "Scienzedellaformazioneprimaria" (Sciences of the primary
education), necessary for teaching in nursery or primary schools (a 4 year
course)
Laureamagistrale(Master's degree)
Diploma accademicodi secondo livello2 years
Laureamagistralea ciclounico(Bachelor's + Master's degree)
For some faculties only. For example: Medicine and surgery, architectural
engineering, pharmacy, architecture, law
The roleof English
Many universities offer a wide range of courses held entirely in
English, (Engineering, science, economics and political sciences
etc) which are aimed at those students who wish to improve
their language skills or those participating in Erasmus and other
exchange programme.