Italian Primary School Research Articles

Change in the Italian Primary School: foreign language teaching as part of the basic curriculum

Summary A major change currently being implemented in the curriculum of the Italian Primary school is the introduction, as a compulsory element, the teaching of a foreign language. This innovation has been under review for many years and is now introduced in the context of a wider package of reforms. The article sets this step forward in the historical perspective of the Italianisation of the peninsula, a process which has taken place over more than a hundred years. During this process, the emphasis was placed heavily on the official language at the expense of teaching the dialects which were, effectively for many children, their first tongue. The tendency now predominant is that of recognising the richness of dialects which still exist in Italy as a resource, and this is seen as a crucial point in the development of national maturity. In practical terms, this will mean for many children that the ‘foreign’ language is in fact L3. An extensive and carefully‐researched programme of teacher training is requi...

A project on the teaching of mathematics and science in the first two grades of primary school

The project which is described is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration between university lecturers (mathematicians, physicists and biologists) and primary school teachers designed to prepare a comprehensive plan for the teaching of science in the first two grades of the Italian primary school. The project, tested practically for the past three years in over 20 classes, consists of nine units for experimental work and seeks to guide children: to acquire mathematical concepts with a plurality of approaches, often by means of amusing games; to describe objects in terms of properties, to notice the morphology of animals and plants with particular attention to morphologic variability, fundamental to evolution; and to observe objects and organisms in order to identify similarities and differences