School v. Schools: Is Italy Shying Away From Italy? Understanding Government and Institutional Practices in Italy From Within an Educational Framework

Raffaella Cantillo

doi:10.20849/jed.v3i3.668

Abstract

This article analyses the Italian school system vis-à-vis other European systems from an objective perspective; the paper seeks to do this by elucidating some of its opaque aspects. It engages with an idea of cultural identity and what can be identified as the most obvious threats posed to it; Italy’s Gestalt at present is coterminous with that of the extant European educational framework, which formerly Italians themselves worked hard to bring about. Hence, raising awareness as to the modality that our country’s laws and agreements impact all aspects of our society becomes a main educational concern in this field of study.

Highlights

This article begins by identifying questions about the Italian school system
The popular feel that it is an ‘old system’ reflects on it becoming overly self-referential in its modalities too, while scholarly research focused on comparisons between schools abroad and other educational systems seem sparser by the day and mainly found online, in blogs, chats on social media or online interviews and articles
This paper provides an excursus of some crucial aspects which characterizes ‘worlds apart’ – and in no way seeks to present an exhaustive outline of differences and similarities between two educational systems such as the UK and the Italian system, only to provide some examples and ideas for future research in this field, far somewhat lacking and often detrimental to either or both country systems

Summary

Introduction

This article begins by identifying questions about the Italian school system. Some of these will sound rhetorical, some old-fashioned or ‘self-referential’ as they focus on our school system by addressing its identity and its practices. One begins to think of old and new, inside and outside from a different perspective; the shocked realization that unlawful breaches can happen anywhere including schools has such a discouraging effect on our eagerness to promote the safe use of technology that we tend to want to stop students from using their devices. This in turn leads to closure and lack of communication, perhaps the most dangerous aspect of our predicament as teachers within a contemporary e-tech oriented classroom environment. The sole answer in this regard is that in order for students not to be considered as rule-breakers and offenders, they should be placed in a condition which would allow safe use of technology within schools, leaving threats and other dangerous elements out by screening them out through up-to-date filtering devices

Findings and Discussions

Conclusions

Suggestions