Italy

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Country in a nutshell

Italy is a parliamentary republic. The State’s republican set-up was established by the referendum of the 2nd June 1946 by which the Italian people abolished monarchy in favour of Republic. The Constitution of the Republic is the fundamental and founding law of the Italian Republic. It was approved by the Constituent Assembly on the 22nd December 1947, promulgated by the Interim Head of State, Enrico De Nicola, on the 27th December 1947 and came into force on the 1st January 1948. It consists of the Republic’s fundamental principles, the rights and duties of the citizens and lays down the organisation of the Republic also as it regards the national education system.

The Italian population is 59.715.627 (source: ISTAT, 2007) and the per-capita GDP is about 27,000 euro per year. Italy extends from the southern side of the Alps’ arc and stretches out to the Mediterranean Sea; its territory includes also Sardinia and Sicily, two large islands, beside a range of smaller islands. The sea at the Eastern side of the peninsula is the Adriatic Sea, at Southeast there is the Ionian Sea; at the West, along the entire peninsula, there is the Tyrrhenian Sea, whereas in the Northwest of the peninsula there is the Ligurian Sea. From a geographical viewpoint Italy’s regions are divided into: northern regions (Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino Alto-Adige, Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Emilia-Romagna); the central regions (Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Latium, Abruzzo); the southern regions (Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria) and the islands (Sicily and Sardinia).

Administrative division

The President of the Republic is the State highest charge and he represents national unity. He is appointed every seven years by the Parliament, convened in a joint sitting, integrated by the regional representatives. He does not have a policy-making role, nevertheless the Constitution entrusts him legislative, executive and judicial functions. In periods of political stability his role is actually limited to representative and monitoring functions. However, the powers conferred to him by the Constitution make the role of the President of the Republic get more importance in situations of political instability or of institutional drift of the State.

The State legislative power is entrusted to a bicameral Parliament composed of the Chamber of Deputies (630 Deputies) and of the Senate of the Republic (315 Senators elected, plus the life Senators). Both houses are elected by universal suffrage (at present, the electoral law provides for the allocation of the sieges among the candidates of different blocked competitive lists in proportion with the votes obtained, with a majority bonus assuring the governability to the most voted coalition lists). In Italy is in force a perfect bicameralism: the Houses have the same functions and the same powers. A law has to be approved, in its same text, by both Houses. In case of contrast between the Houses the law is not approved. As a consequence, the electoral laws of the two Houses are quite similar in order to avoid that differences in policy-making paralyse the Parliament. This system was conceived in order to have a higher balance of the decision-makers in approving the laws. The Houses hold office for 5 years, but the President of the Republic can dismiss them in before the term office.

The executive power is held by the Government, which, according to art. 92, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, comprises two distinct bodies: the President of the Council of Ministers, the Ministers and the Council of Ministers consisting in the union of the above-mentioned bodies. The Ministers are responsible on an individual basis of the acts of their offices and, on a collegial basis, of the acts of the Council of Ministers. The President of the Council directs the Government’s policy, but in the framework of the Council he is primus inter pares among his colleagues. However, if he resigns, the entire Government resigns The President of the Republic, further to consultations with the main political leaders, appoints the President of the Council and, upon proposal of this last one, the Ministers. After taking office, the Government shall present itself to the Parliament and obtain confidence vote by both Houses. Since the Ministers cannot be revoked, sometimes. in order to force them to resign, each Chamber votes for no confidence for an individual minister.

The Magistrates exercises the judiciary power (both the inquiring and the judging one and it is an autonomous and independent body from any other power. The ordinary Magistrates have the jurisdictional function (see jurisdiction entry), which they govern in the name of the people. The Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (the Higher Council of the Magistrates), elected for one third of its members by the Parliament in joint sitting and for two thirds by all Magistrates is chaired by rights by the President of the Republic and has self-governing tasks of the Magistrates.

Education in Country

The Italian education systems has been under reform for years, being a critical field where changes in government have been reflected in a series of reforms being not always on a continuity line.

Compulsory education

Thanks to recent reforms dating back to 2007 , education in Italy is now compulsory for ten years (up to 16 years of age), whereas each person has to remain in education or training up to 18 years of age or for a total of 12 years. Specifically, compulsory education includes the first cycle of education (5 years of primary school followed by 3 years of lower secondary school, with no exam in-between) and the first two years of the second cycle of education. The latter can be accomplished either in upper secondary schools (“licei”, technical and vocational institutes) or within vocational training, namely in three-years courses run by the Regions which in Italy are responsible for managing and delivering vocational training. As far as upper secondary general education is concerned, a reform of 2010 has recently introduced a systematisation of upper secondary schools, in order to make clearer and more transparent the existing educational supply to students and parents, hereby counteracting a trend which in the last decades had produced - by means of experimentations - a huge number of different upper secondary school paths.

Overall the Italian education system includes:

Pre-primary education “Scuola dell’infanzia”, which is for children between 3 and 6 years of age and is not part of compulsory schooling;

The first cycle of education lasting 8 years, and organised in

• Primary education (6-11)
• Lower secondary school (11-14)

(It is worth stressing, that unlike several European school systems, primary and lower secondary education remains two different education levels in Italy, each with its’ own specificities, due to a quite recent re-organisation of school cycle dating back to 2003 .)

Second cycle of education consisting of two different pathways (with possibility to move from one to the other):

• Upper secondary school, falling under the responsibility of the State, lasting 5 year and addressing students aged 15-19 (provided by licei, technical and vocational schools)
• Initial vocational training (3-years courses) for students who have completed the first cycle of education, organised by the Regions and leading to a vocational qualification of first level.

The three-year vocational qualification obtained at the end of a vocational training path allows access to second level vocational training, which can be accessed also with an upper secondary education leaving certificate. Access to both tertiary education and AFAM (high level artistic, musical and chorus education), is reserved to students who passed the state exam at the end of upper secondary school .

Post-secondary non-tertiary education Post-secondary non-tertiary education is available within the “higher technical education and training system” (Istruzione e Formazione Tecnica Superiore – IFTS). It offers higher technical education and training pathways and courses provided by Higher Technical Institutes (Istituti Tecnici Superiori – ITS). The system is designed to speed up the access of young people to the world of work and to retrain those who already have work experience. This is done through courses which are designed to provide young people and adults (employed or otherwise) with more specific cultural knowledge and in-depth and targeted technical and vocational training. . Courses offered by the Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) are aimed at meeting the formative needs throughout the country, referred to the following 6 technological areas: energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, new technologies in life, new technologies 'made in Italy', innovative technologies for arts and cultural activities, ICT. IFTS courses, on the contrary, are planned by the Regions within their own exclusive competences. Anyone (adults included) holding an upper secondary education leaving certificate, has access to courses offered by the High Technical Institutes (ITS) and to IFTS pathways. Access to IFTS pathways is also allowed to those in possession of a three-year vocational diploma, to those who have been admitted to the fifth year of the liceo, as well as to those who do not hold any upper secondary certification. These latter are required to hold a certification of competences acquired through previous training and working experiences undertaken after the fulfilment of compulsory education. Post-secondary non tertiary education also includes "Second-level vocational training" , addressing those who have obtained an upper secondary school leaving certificate or a first-level qualification in the three year vocational education and training courses (see chapter 4). These students have fulfilled their ‘right-duty’ to education and training according to former law 296/2006. Second-level courses, offering a qualification and a specialisation in a profession of a specific area, foresee full time attendance in an accredited formative institute, which manages the courses, and a compulsory ‘stage’.

Higher education sector consisting of university and non-university higher education. The higher education system is divided into State and non-State establishments. The legal provisions in force for higher education in Italy are set out in Article 33 of the Italian Constitution, which recognises the right of universities and academies to act autonomously within the limits set by the law. Both public and private organisations have the right to establish schools and educational establishments. Universities have adopted new autonomy statutes which establish their governing bodies as well as their teaching and research structures. Academies and Afam institutes are the principal seats of high level education, specialization and research in the art and music sector. They have statutory legal status and autonomy in regards to the following fields; teaching, scientific, administrative, financial and accounting.

More information can be found at http://www.istruzione.it/web/istruzione/famiglie/ordinamenti

Education reform

Schools

Two governments, belonging to two opposite political coalitions, have been in power since 2003. As a consequence, the education system has undergone various amendments. The reform of the Italian education system started with Law no. 53/2003. It took place within the principle of Lifelong Learning, defining the main characteristics of the education system, divided into two cycles:

• 1st cycle: primary school and lower secondary school
• 2nd cycle: upper secondary school.

This law and its legislative decrees led to the reform of the 1st cycle of the educational system which has been into force since 2003. The reform of the 2nd cycle announced by the law was only realised in February 2010. Pre-primary school is not part of the education system. The law establishes 24 hours per week as school time, as well as only one class teacher in primary education for the 1st cycle. It also gives rules for introducing progressively e-books, which will become compulsory from 2011.

The National Guidelines for pre-primary school and the 1st cycle of education, introduced shortly after Law no. 53/2003, have been implemented by the Guidelines for the Curriculum, drawn up by a panel of experts in 2007 and supported by the new Ministry of the Government in power from 2006 until 2008. With a new government in 2006, compulsory education was extended by two more years, lasting now ten of eight years as previously, to the age of 16, including the 1st cycle and the first two years of the 2nd cycle. The government in 2008 modified the previous law by including within the ten years of compulsory education (primary, lower secondary school) two more years which can be undertaken within the formal education system (General Education, Technical and Vocational education) or within the Vocational Training courses organized by the Regions.

Post-secondary

The offer at higher technical education and training level has been reorganised in 2008; according to this reorganisation the offer at this level is the following: courses provided by the Higher Technical Institutes (Istituti Tecnici Superiori – ITS) and pathways offered by the Higher technical education and training institutes (Istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore – IFTS). The higher technical education and training system (ITS courses and IFTS pathways) offer courses aiming mainly to develop professional specialisations at post-secondary level which meet the requirements of the labour market, both in the public and private sectors. The curricula of both pathways refer to different-level common, linguistic, scientific and technological, juridical and economic, and relational competences as well as to competences related to organisation, and communication, and to technical/vocational competences related to specific higher technical profiles; curricula are developed according to the indicators of the European union certifications and qualifications. Courses offered by the Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) are aimed at meeting the formative needs throughout the country, referred to the following 6 technological areas: energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, new technologies in life, new technologies 'made in Italy', innovative technologies for arts and cultural activities, ICT. IFTS courses, on the contrary, are planned by the Regions within their own exclusive competences. Each pathway is divided into hours of theoretical, practical and laboratory/workshop work. Pathways destined for employed workers take into account their employment commitments when the timetable is made up and the arrangements for attendance are defined. Company-based training and training courses must cover 30 % of the total length of the courses. Courses offered by Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) lead to the obtainment of a Diploma of high level technician, while IFTS pathways lead to the obtainment of a Certificate of high level technical specialisation. Both qualifications are accepted to apply for open competitions. The 'formative credit' acquired in both pathways (ITS courses and IFTS pathways), is the whole of the competences that can be recognised in further training or work experience. Recognition of credits is carried out by the institution which the person applies, taking into account the characteristics of thecourse she/he is going to start. The recognition of credits is done: when accessing the courses; throughout the courses to shorten them and facilitate possible shifts to other courses or paths within the whole system; outside the courses, in order to facilitate the partial or total recognition of competences acquired in the world of work, universities and other training systems.

Courses offered by Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) lead to the obtainment of a Diploma of high level technician, while IFTS pathways lead to the obtainment of a Certificate of high level technical specialisation. Both qualifications are accepted to apply for open competitions. The 'formative credit' acquired in both pathways (ITS courses and IFTS pathways), is the whole of the competences that can be recognised in further training or work experience. Recognition of credits is carried out by the institution which the person applies, taking into account the characteristics of thecourse she/he is going to start. The recognition of credits is done: when accessing the courses; throughout the courses to shorten them and facilitate possible shifts to other courses or paths within the whole system; outside the courses, in order to facilitate the partial or total recognition of competences acquired in the world of work, universities and other training systems.

Administration and finance

Schools

Overall responsibility for school education lies within the Ministry of Education, University and Research (Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca), which works at central level, while regional and provincial education offices work at local level. Regions may delegate certain responsibilities to the provinces and municipalities. As regards school education, the Ministry carries out its own functions in the following areas:

• the general organisation of school education;
• school organisation and timetabling;
• the legal status of the staff;
• the definition of the criteria and parameters for the organisation of the school network;
• the determination of the financial resources to be borne by the State budget and school staffing;
• the assessment of the school system;
• the identification of the training objectives and standards in the field of higher education, etc..

According to Law no. 59 of 15 March 1997, all schools are granted teaching autonomy, organizing autonomy and research, experimentation and development autonomy.

The Constitution establishes that the State has to provide for a state-owned education system, but it also establishes that also non-state school may exist. These can be of two different kinds:

• schools with equal status (paritarie), these are schools managed by private subjects or public bodies. They have been granted equal status, as they have met specific requirements such as: carrying out an educational plan in coherence with the principles included in the Constitution and in the legislation, allowing everyone willing to be enrolled, hiring teaching staff holding a qualification to teach and according to the national contracts (law 62/2000). Schools with equal status are allowed to issue legally recognised certificates and are part of the national education and training system.
• schools with non-equal status (non paritarie) (law 27/2006). These are schools that did not present a request for obtaining the equal status or do not meet the specific requirements. They are not allowed to issue officially recognised certificates, they cannot be called 'school' and they are not institutions for the fulfilment of the right/duty (diritto/dovere) to education.

In school year 2007/08, people enrolled in non-State school were the 5.5 % of the entire school population.

General administration at local level

The local administration is currently subdivided into two levels: provincial and municipal, with various responsibilities for school subjects and levels. The Provincial School Office (former Centro Servizi Amministrativi – CSA: Administrative Services Centre) is designed simply as an internal wing of the Uffici Scolastici Regionali – USR (Regional School Offices). It therefore has no operational autonomy of its own, since, as a provincial administrative body, it is merely the body responsible for public education at Provincial level. There are no Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) peripheral offices at commune level. The organisation of the MIUR provides for a ‘peripheral’ organisation made up of the regional school offices (general management level). They are autonomous centres of administrative responsibility exercising residual state functions, not transferred to the Regions and schools, as well as the functions involved in relationships with the Regions and local bodies, University and training agencies. The Regional Administration Departments (Assessorati) deal with education and training issues at regional level. Furthermore, the Education Office of the Regional authorities is responsible for planning the integrated educational offer which includes general education and vocational training; school network planning, based on provincial plans; school calendar determination; funds destined to non-state schools. It is also responsible for vocational training. The regional competences therefore include the initiatives geared towards ensuring initial integration, including higher education technical-vocational training, advanced training, vocational retraining, continuing training, etc. The main responsibilities of the Regions concerning education and vocational training can be delegated to Provinces and Communes on the basis of a trend which reserves functions of guidance, planning and monitoring to the Regions. As a result, this gives them fewer and fewer managing functions.

Administration and management at local level In each school, the management and administration functions are vested in the Consiglio di circolo (for pre-school establishments and primary schools) or in the Consiglio di istituto (for secondary schools) and in the Dirigente scolastico. The Consiglio di circolo and the Consiglio di istituto are responsible for questions relating to the budget and the organisation and planning of school activities. As part of this autonomy, each educational establishment draws up the Piano dell’Offerta Formativa (POF), which is the basic document that defines the school’s cultural identity and plans for the future. This document is drawn up by the Collegio dei docenti (Teachers’ Committee). and is approved by the Consiglio di circolo or by the Consiglio di istituto. The Dirigente scolastico handles the management of the school. He is its legal representative, and he is responsible for the management of the school’s financial and material resources and for the results of the service. The Dirigente has independent powers of management, coordination and use of the resources, and to this end he has the power to promote actions aimed at guaranteeing the quality of the training processes. Starting from school year 2000/01 the person in charge of administrative matters was given the title Direttore dei servizi generali e amministrativi (Director of general and administrative services). This Director has operational autonomy to oversee, within the framework of the guidelines issued by the Dirigente of the school and the set objectives, the administrative services and the general education services, to which end he coordinates the personnel concerned. The Collegio dei docenti (Teachers’ Committee) formulates teaching and educational plans for each school year, and in particular the Piano dell’Offerta Formativa. This Committee periodically reviews the overall teaching activity to ensure that it conforms to the planned objectives, proposing improvements where necessary. The Consiglio di intersezione (for pre-primary schools), the Consiglio di interclasse (for primary schools) and the Consiglio di classe (for secondary schools) formulate educational and teaching plans for the class, assess class teaching and discipline, organise innovation remedial and support initiatives, and carry out the periodic and final assessment of pupils.

Financing of the system

Although Law no. 59 of 15 March 1997 grants schools autonomy in regards to teaching methodology, organisation, research, experimentation and development, it does not give schools financial autonomy. Therefore, as stipulated in art. 21 of the aforementioned law, the essential financial appropriation is made up of the allocation by the State of funds for administrative and didactic functioning, which is subdivided into an ordinary allocation and an equalising allocation. This appropriation is granted without any other commitment as to use, other than the requirement to give priority to the education, training and guidance characteristic of each type and level of school. The State directly provides the administrative and didactic financing of the school, while the Regions provide services and assistance for pupils (school meals, transport, textbooks in primary school, grants for less well-off pupils and social care). The Provinces and the Municipalities, for their part, can provide assistance and services by way of delegation from the Regions. Enrolment and attendance in compulsory education are free of charge. For the pre-school level, even though it is not compulsory, tuition fees are not charged, while at upper secondary level pupils are expected to pay the enrolment fees, examination fees and contributions towards the functioning of laboratories/workshops.

Post-secondary

Art. 69 of Law no. 144 of 17 May 1999 and subsequent regulations adopted with the Interministerial Decree No. 436 of 31 October 2000 set up the system of higher-level technical education and training (IFTS) within the system of integrated higher education training. The system is designed to speed up the access of young people to the world of work and to retrain those who already have work experience. This is done through courses which are designed to provide young people and adults (employed or otherwise) with more specific cultural knowledge and in-depth and targeted technical and vocational training. In 2007, the IFTS system was redefined as “Higher technical institutes, providing for their confluence in the technical-professional poles made up of technical institutes, accredited professional institutes, vocational training structures and higher technical institutes”. The guidelines for the reorganisation of the IFTS system and for the establishment of the Higher Technical Institutes have been issued through Decree on 25 January 2008. According to this reorganization, the offer at this level is the following: training offer and programmes provided by Higher Technical Institutes (Istituti Tecnici Superiori – ITS) and training offers provided through the IFTS pathways. Finally, as part of the drive to redesign training provision, art. 69 of the Law no. 144 of 17 May 1999 created the system of higher technical education and training (IFTS) within the system of integrated advanced training (FIS). The aim of this system is to widen the scope of the training courses intended for young people and adults (employed or unemployed). Based on the above-mentioned provisions, Regions plan the institution of IFTS courses in order to assure integration among educational systems, on the basis of guidelines defined by a National Committee and approved by the Unified Conference. High Technical Institutes (ITS), according to the degree which instituted them, are specific types of foundations (half-way between being associations and private foundations). They can be set up by: an upper secondary school, either State-funded or paritaria, belonging to the technical/vocational branch situated in the same province of the foundation; a training institution which has been accredited by the Region for the purpose of higher level training and situated in the same province of the foundation; an enterprise belonging to the same productive branch of the ITS; university department or any other body belonging to the technological/scientific research system; a local authority (municipality, province, extended urban area, etc). IFTS courses are free of charge. They are co-financed by the Ministry and by the Regions; however, private financing can also be foreseen. IFTS pathways are planned and carried by minimum four educational subjects: school, vocational training, university, enterprise or another public or private subject, formally associated in the form of a consortium.

Regions are also responsible for the establishment of the post-diploma courses/post-vocational qualification courses (second level initial vocational training); they organise the courses by setting up a regional/provincial call and train professional profiles with a high specialization level to meet the needs of the local professional market. Regions release higher qualification diplomas or, in the case of short courses, an attendance certificate. In most Regions, courses are financed through the European Social Fund, therefore they are offered free of charge

Quality assurance

Schools

There are essentially two procedures for evaluating education establishments: internal and external. Internal evaluation of educational establishments is regulated by the Charter of Academic Services (DPCM/1995) and the Regulation on autonomy (DPR 275/1999) which encourages self-evaluation. The Charter of Academic Services identifies three quality areas (didactic, administrative, environmental), defines quality and standard factors for each area, stipulates self-evaluation procedures (revelation of elements through questionnaires for parents, staff and students). As for external evaluation of schools, law 176/2007 entrusts the National evaluation service (Servizio nazionale di valutazione) of the education and training system (established by reform law 53/2003 in the INVALSI) with the task of carrying out the necessary surveys for evaluating the positive outcomes of schools. The Board of Auditors is entrusted with the control on administrative and accounting regularity. In 2004, the National service for the evaluation of the education and training system was instituted. Its task is to improve the quality of the education system, through the evaluation of its efficiency also in relation with the international context. The National institute for the evaluation of the education and training system (Istituto nazionale di valutazione del sistema educativo di istruzione e formazione – INVALSI) is entrusted with the national service.

On the national level, the education system is evaluated by INVALSI (National institute for the evaluation of the system of education) reformed with DL no. 286/2004 through the national evaluation system of the educational system of instruction and training. The learning levels reached by pupils are analysed through the INVALSI’s annual findings. The Ministry of Education, University and Research has established the three-year and annual action plans for the evaluation activities that should be carried out by the INVALSI starting from school year 2008/09. The ValSIS (evaluation of the education system and schools) research project has been started up in the view of defining a unitary framework for the evaluation of the education system and schools. The Ministerial Directive on the action plan of INVALSI for the next three years, establishes that, as for the evaluation of the education system, INVALSI draws up an annual report on the school system, which must include both quantitative indicators (demand/supply ratio, resources, etc.) and qualitative indicators (analysis of exam outcomes, analysis of national and international surveys, etc.). According to the three-year directive, the areas subject to intervention are the following: education system evaluation; schools evaluation; evaluation of the learning outcomes of pupils and students

Information society

Italian Digital Agenda is a dedicated space on the website of the Italian Ministry for Economic Development aimed at informing on national activities headed towards the development of an advanced information society.

Generally speaking, the action of the Italian government in the last decade with regards to information society is in line with the overall objectives of the Lisbon agenda and focuses on two main lines:

• e-government
• Infrastructure development to ensure access to information society and overcoming of digital divide in the territory

The "Digital Italy" Plan is the government instrument to stimulate the development of digital infrastructure and promote the widespread use of digital technologies, services and processes, promoting greater competitiveness, productivity and efficiency, and resulting in greater economic growth and employment in the country. The plan has two main pillars:

• Broadband National Plan, aimed at eliminating the digital divide in the country, by supporting through public intervention the infrastructual development in those areas (around 6000) where development costs cannot be supported by market forces, due to low pay-off. The goal is to ensure within 2013 access to modern infrastructure to 8,5 millions of Italians who at the end of 2008 found themselved affected by "digital divide". see: Broadband National Plan

• Next Generation Networks Plan, aimed at ensuring that at least the 50% of the population has access to services with over 100mbps of speed wittin 2020, in line with the European Degital Agenda objectives.

Statistical Report on Society Information in Italy, 2004

References

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