Education In Italy

The first part of this course examines each stage of the Italian educational system from nursery school (asilo nido) through the various levels and choices of secondary and high schools. This examination of Italian schooling will also be approached from an historical standpoint, particularly mapping changes in the last three decades. The following questions will be examined: What is the effect of immigration on schools and how have they adapted to the recent influx of non-European pupils? What is/has been the role of the Catholic Church in state education and has the increasingly secularized nature of Italian society impacted on schooling? How has the role of the teacher changed and how does that role compare to those in other countries? How and why has the curriculum changed? The second part of the course will examine the choices for higher education from technical colleges to university. Italy boasts the oldest universities in the world - those of Salerno, Bologna, Padua and Pavia - and some attention will be given to the history of the Italian university and its role in the Renaissance period. The structure, organisation, admission procedures, student life and degree system of the modern university will be examined. This course includes a Service Learning component as a learning tool to provide students with the opportunity to experience an authentic connection with the Florentine community.