Italy: the debate in Parliament” “

Discussion on a government bill (no.1306) to delegate to the government the right to define the “general provisions on education and the essential levels of performance in the field of educational and vocational training” opened in the Italian Senate on 6 November. The bill makes provision for a reorganization of the Italian school system. It was drawn up by the minister of education, Letizia Moratti, with the help of a work group chaired by Giuseppe Bertagna. On the basis of this proposal, the new school system would begin with a three-year period of infant schooling, from age 3 to 6. That would be followed by a five-year period of primary education, a three-year period of lower secondary school, followed in turn by a five-year period of higher secondary school. Various forms of vocational training are envisaged as an alternative to the latter. The new bill would also make it compulsory for all children to continue schooling to the age of 18. We analysed the main aspects of this reform in the context of the wider European debate with the help of Luciano Corradini , professor of education at Roma Tre University and president of the UCIIM (Italian Catholic Union of Lower Secondary School Teachers). The debate on school reform is investing the whole of Europe. Has the time come to re-think the school system as a whole? “It’s no new thing for these problems to be discussed at the European level. The harmonization of school systems has been on the agenda since 1957. A partial solution to the problem has been found through the mutual recognition of school qualifications and the implementation of measures to increase student mobility in Europe, such as the Socrates and Erasmus programmes. There have also been meetings of EU ministers of education, with the objective of promoting joint policies, for example on the front of the campaign against student dropouts, prevention of drug abuse, support for the disabled, the promotion of language skills and vocational guidance. In their meetings at the Sorbonne and in Bologna the EU ministers also signed joint undertakings relating to the harmonization of school and university systems and the necessary credits for the various academic levels; but these are not decisions that commit their national parliaments”. Can a common project be identified that might guide school reform in Europe? “The current phase of formulation and discussion of the European Constitution could provide a very significant opportunity also for educational reflection. It’s enough to recall that the Italian school system is still based on the few principles enunciated in the Constitution of the Republic. A Europe of education does exist: namely, a Community-wide dimension of teaching and curricula. In this regard it should be reaffirmed that the school should aim at the formation of the person, of the citizen, of the worker and of the consumer. These are essential affirmations in the definition of a European citizen”. What are the main problems to be tackled in the reform of the Italian school system? “We are aiming at a comprehensive overhaul of our school system, including its curriculum and organization. This is inseparably linked with the reform of the constitutional order of the Republic which confers new responsibilities on the Regions in education. In this context we are called to reinvent educational provision, both at the level of schools and of vocational institutes, making sure it is correlated and taking into account European regulations in terms of the recognition of qualifications, the free circulation of persons, and the labour market. The main innovations concern the reform of the school curriculum and the raising of the age of compulsory education to 18. The ministry of education has produced guidelines and recommendations for nursery, elementary and lower secondary schools, including a programme of experimentation already begun in 200 schools, but not yet for higher secondary schools. It’s on these fronts we need to act, though never losing sight of the fundamental values of the person referred to European citizens”. Ignazio Ingrao