Italian School Research Articles

High quality timetables for Italian schools

This work introduces a complex variant of the timetabling problem, which is motivated by the case of Italian schools. The new requirements enforce to (i) provide teachers with the same idle times, (ii) avoid consecutive days with heavy workload, (iii) limit multiple daily lessons for each class, (iv) introduce shorter time units to differentiate entry and exit times. We present an integer programming model for this problem, which is denoted by Italian High School Timetabling Problem (IHSTP). However, requirements (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) cannot be expressed according to the current XHSTT standard. Since the IHSTP model is very hard to solve by an off-the-shelf solver, we present a two-step optimization method: the first step optimally assigns teachers to lesson times and the second step assigns classes to teachers. An extensive experimentation is performed on the model by realistic and real instances from Italian schools, as well as benchmark instances from the literature. Finally, the experiments show that the method is effective in solving both this new problem and the simplified problem without the new requirements.

Italian Historical Developments of Teaching and Museum Valorization of Mechanism Models

This paper presents an historical analysis of developments for the creation and usage of models of mechanisms in academic teaching fields, with the aim of re-evaluating the interest and usefulness of models in teaching and research, and of promoting their merits as a cultural heritage worthy of being preserved. The historical analysis is focused on developments in Italy, with specific attention given to physical models created and used for training young engineers in Italian engineering schools, using commercial products, but also original Italian creations. Examples are reported from the main Italian academic sites, where examples of such models of mechanisms have been preserved or have survived, also, as first attempts at museum valorization in terms of historical memorabilia of educational developments on mechanism design issues.

A Processability Approach to Instructed Language Learning in Multilingual Contexts Developmental Stages from a Receptive Competence Perspective

Existing research indicates a qualitative difference between Second Language Learning and Third Language Acquisition, and certain psycholinguistic and developmental aspects of multilingual learners merit investigation. The present article examines stages in receptive learner acquisition of English as a Third Language at Italian medium primary schools in South Tyrol (Italy) employing a picture selection task and implicational scaling analysis. It highlights the role that processing approaches to acquisition proposing constraints on developmental readiness and cross-linguistic influence may play in the emergence of receptive competence in morphosyntactic structures.

Adolescents’ Psychoactive Substance Use During the First COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross Sectional Study in Italy

BackgroundItaly was one of the first European countries to be affected by Covid-19. Due to the severity of the pandemic, the Italian government imposed a nationwide lockdown which had a great impact on the population, especially adolescents. Distance-learning, moving restrictions and pandemic-related concerns, resulted in a particularly stressful situation.ObjectiveThis cross-sectional study aims to analyse substance consumption and its associated factors during the Covid-19 lockdown imposed by the Italian government.MethodsESPAD is a questionnaire that is administered yearly in Italian high schools. In 2020, it was administered online during dedicated hours of distance learning, collecting data from 6027 Italian students (52.4% were male) aged 15–19. Data collected from the 2020 questionnaire was matched with that collected in 2019, in order to make them comparable.ResultsThe prevalence of consumption of each substance decreased during the restriction period, and the most used substance during the lockdown period was alcohol (43.1%). There were some changes in factors associated with psychoactive substance use, especially painkillers and non-prescription drugs. For instance, unlike what was observed in the 2019 model, in 2020 spending money without parental control was associated with painkillers and non-prescription drug use while risk perception was not.ConclusionsThe restrictions and the increased difficulties in obtaining psychoactive substances did not prevent their consumption, and students with particular risk factors continued to use them, possibly changing the substance type of substance. This information is useful in order to better understand adolescents’ substance use during the ongoing pandemic.

Divergent thinking in Italian elementary school children: the key role of probabilistic reasoning style.

Divergent thinking is widely recognised as an individual creative potential and an essential factor in fostering creativity since the early stages of life. Albeit previous research revealed that creativity could be pursued through controlled mental processes (e.g. reasoning), the debate about the impact of children's reasoning on divergent thinking and, ultimately, creativity is still open. The present study sought to deepen the relationships between probabilistic reasoning and divergent thinking in a sample of 106 Italian children (meanage = 8.64, SDage = 1.34; 58 F). The Beads Task was used to evaluate probabilistic reasoning, whereas the Alternative Uses Task was administered to assess divergent thinking. Results revealed that analytical, slow, and effortful forms of thought underpinned by high probabilistic competencies predict children's divergent production. These findings suggest that a higher score for divergence of thinking depends on a high involvement of reasoning style, which in this study relies on the ability to make probabilistic decisions in ambiguous situations. Future research directions were discussed.

Gamifying English Language Learning through Interactive Storytelling and MALL Technologies

In today’s society, marked by the spread of Covid-19 that forced the shift from a traditional face-to-face to a fully online setting, digital tools are becoming more and more essential to engage 21st Century students in their classroom activities. In the context of ELT (English Language Teaching), Digital Game-Based Language Learning (DGBLL) has increasingly been shown to foster language development since its interactivity allows for the creation of a constructivist learning environment in which students do not experience feelings of stress and anxiety. This article aims to present the design, development, and testing of an original class-interactive storytelling game addressing EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Italian Secondary School students. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and submitted to statistical and Computer-assisted content analyses to triangulate and enhance findings. The results showed that DGBLL had positive effects on students’ language development and the enhancement of 21st Century Skills, including critical thinking, engagement, collaboration, and the reduction of the fear of failure.

Distance Lesson Study in Mathematics: A Case Study of an Italian High School

The COVID-19 pandemic put teachers and students in virtual classrooms, necessitating the Lesson Study to be adapted to such a new context. In this paper, we investigate how the roles of teachers, observers, and students are changing, considering the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as the only medium of communication. The research methodology is based on the Documental Approach to Didactics, including Instrumental Genesis. It is a qualitative internal case study. The data was collected through video analysis. The Lesson Study (LS) methods were based on a cyclic model (co-planning, teaching, observation, debriefing, and revision), adapted to Distance Learning (DL). The topic is about Statistics, starting from the COVID-19 diffused data. The experimental work allowed us to observe the inter-connections between LS and DL. We deduced that ICT could be considered as a resource for the documental genesis, which generates processes aimed at social knowledge mediated by the teacher. We supposed that the observing phase was less invasive than during virtual experimentation. Nevertheless, the observers had difficulties understanding some students' and teachers' emotional aspects and analyzing the group activities. The technological resources were an added value for the LS. We present an LS methodology, entirely carried out through DL. The main value consists of showing both affordability and constraints of the DL with respect to the LS and vice versa.

The Lautsi Legacy: A New Judgment on the Crucifix in Classrooms and the Multiculturalist Turn on Freedom of/from Religion in Italy

The article offers a socio-legal analysis of the recent case on freedom of/from religion in Italy, the Coppoli judgment of the Italian Supreme Court, which grants public schools the autonomy to manage religious symbols. The new ruling is discussed in the shadow of the Lautsi case, examining the shift from the discourse of “passive religious symbol” to the framework of “respect of different sensibilities” in pluralistic classrooms. In doing that, first, we provide a sociological framework for the study of “passive religious symbols” from a multiculturalist and religious freedom perspective. Second, the Coppoli case is contextualized within political, normative and judicial Italian contexts following the Lautsi jurisprudence. Third, we revise the model of “secularism as a method of dialogue” considered by the judges as important in claiming individual freedoms of/from religion in the multicultural classroom. The final part of the article provides a discussion and critical considerations about the Coppoli case, problematizing the future challenges of managing religious diversity in Italian public schools. We argue that the dynamic of freedom of/from religion’s jurisprudence in the Coppoli case endorses an additive model of accommodating diverse cultural and religious identities in public schools.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Adolescents' Use of Technologies, Sense of Community, and Loneliness: A Retrospective Perception Analysis.

HighlightsThe pandemic has massively exacerbated the sense of loneliness of high-school students, especially of young women.The pandemic has changed the use of technology by high-school students for social, information, leisure, and educational purposes.Young women changed their use of technology more than young men to stay in touch with their family and for information seeking and study purposes.High-school students’ sense of community has undergone modest variations due to the pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic has brought important changes to how we engage in relationships of any kind. To combat the spread of the virus, schools resorted to remote-learning, and teenagers had to rely on various technologies to meet many of the needs that they used to satisfy offline (e.g., social, informational, and recreational/leisure purposes). This article was written to investigate the changes that the students at an Italian high school went through in terms of use of technologies, loneliness, and sense of community, through a survey focusing on their retrospective perceptions. The study was carried out on 917 students. In general, we have found that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly increased the perception of loneliness in teenagers (especially in female respondents), as well as their use of technologies for social, informational, and leisure purposes. However, maybe thanks to the opportunities provided by ICTs and remote learning, the sense of community in Italian teenagers was only marginally impacted.

Physical education teaching in Italian primary school: theoretical lines and operational proposals

Background and Study aim. For the new reform to be applied in the best possible way, it is a priority and useful to promote the development of knowledge on the organization and methods of teaching/learning in physical education in primary school. This study aims to search for a new didactic organizational model for physical education in primary school, starting from the theoretical lines, showing the contrasts of the significant aspects and the uniqueness of heuristic learning, with a consequent theoretical and argumentative elaboration of operational proposals.
 Material and Methods. For this purpose, an accurate survey of the scientific literature has been analyzed, highlighting the critical issues that characterized the various proposals and attempt to implement physical activity and sports education courses in primary school over the years, up to the recent legislative innovation.
 Results. The path of the definition of physical education in primary school was marked by stages that did not always enhance the educational and training dimension of the motor and sports experience, making the school discipline assume a marginal and optional role in the face of an extracurricular practice characterized by a widespread organization and more capable of intercepting and responding to the physical exercise and sport needs of society. This complex situation has only generated confusion without solving the problem of the absence of physical and sporting activity in the 5-10 age group, as required by the World Health Organization and the European Union, by adequately and uniquely qualified teachers. It is now useful to promote the development of knowledge on the didactic organization of the primary school, on the different teaching/learning methods in physical education, to contextualize the scope of the new legal provision to the current legal framework
 Conclusions. The study highlights the value of a new approach in teacher training that aims to ensure the acquisition of key competence, according to the Recommendation of the European Parliament. This perspective can be easily realized by using a core curriculum uniformly applied at the national level.

High school students’ attitudes towards geometry: An exploratory factor analysis

While there are several scales that measure students’ mathematical attitudes, few are focused on measuring students’ attitudes towards geometry. Some of the scales present in literature measure different dimensions of students’ attitudes towards geometry, such as their enjoyment of the subject, motivation to learn it, and perception of the usefulness of learning geometry. In the present study, we present an instrument that can be used to measure students’ attitudes towards geometry by focusing on four factors: (1) students’ enjoyment, (2) perception of the usefulness of learning geometry, (3) negative (or positive) factors underlying the learning of geometry, and (4) students’ motivation to learn geometry. The instrument has been tested on a sample of 242 Italian high school students. An exploratory factor analysis has shown that the instrument is valid and the reliability of the instrument is high.
 
 Keywords: geometry, attitude, PCA, EFA, high school.

SCHOOL AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE FOR RANKING HIGH SCHOOLS: SOME EVIDENCE FROM ITALY

This paper aims to investigate and compare the performance of Italian public high schools (HS) to provide a ranking among different typologies of HS. In this paper, seven criteria that refer to students’ school and academic performance were considered. The sample includes 263 high schools in all Italian regions, grouped into 6 different types of schools and 3 geographic areas. Assuming that all criteria have the same weights, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to derive the ranking among the typologies of schools both at a national level and within each geographic area. The main results show that there are significant differences between HS according to criteria related to school and academic performance both within and between geographic areas. The ranking does not vary, but the intensity of preferences may be different according to the area and/or the criterion considered. The application of PROMETHEE to the same problem confirms the results obtained by the AHP.

Teachers’ Perceived Impact of an Online Professional Development Course on Content and Language Integration and Pedagogical Translanguaging

Research has already shown that designing instruction that simultaneously develops students’ content and language competences is fundamental especially, but not only, when students are educated in a second, foreign or additional language. Unfortunately, content teachers working in different types of bilingual education programmes hold varying beliefs about the role of language for and in learning and often struggle to successfully integrate language and content objectives. This is particularly the case of content teachers working in the Italian network of educational institutions in the world who struggle to support students to learn content through Italian as the language of instruction, but also tend to fail to recognize the importance of validating their linguistic and cultural background. In this context, the dearth of training is accompanied by a dearth of research on the effects of professional development courses.This paper aims to fill this gap by reporting on the effectiveness of a short online teacher professional development (OTPD) course aimed at supporting both primary and secondary subject teachers working in Italian international schools abroad to integrate content and language learning from a plurilingual and pluricultural perspective. Specifically, it explores teachers’ perceptions in relation to the design and implementation features of the course and to its effects on their beliefs, teaching practice, and professional identity.

Fostering Self-Regulated Learning Through School Newspaper

School newspapers have a long educational tradition. However, the scientific literature on this activity is relatively scarce. The objective of this research is to check if there is a positive relationship between self￾regulation and participation in school newspaper projects. Three groups of students will be studied who come to the same school, the IIS Einaudi of Rome (Italy). The first group will produce a web newspaper. The second a traditional newspaper. The third will be a control group. The adopted methodology will be mixed: qualitative and quantitative. The design of the qualitative analysis will be based on a case study through open interviews to students and teachers and through the direct observation of writing meetings. For the quantitative analysis the design will be quasi-experimental and it will be used a version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ) validated for Italian high school students. Regarding the results, it is expected that the group of the web newspaper will be the one that best manages to self-regulate their learning.

Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda—Survey on Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes of Italian Teachers of Public Mandatory Schools, 2021

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goes hand in hand with realising a more sustainable future, taking into account environmental, economic and social dimensions. Education can accelerate these goals, with teachers playing a central role. In 2021, a study was conducted among teachers in Italian mandatory schools to investigate knowledge, sources of information and attitudes towards the SDGs. An online survey was conducted, based on a Likert-scale with 62 items. The questionnaire was completed by 417 teachers. The overall knowledge score shows a median of 42.9%, an interquartile range of 25% and a range of 1.8–91.1%. A very good level of knowledge among teachers is limited to some topics, such as the Greenhouse effect (19.6%) and Resilience (13%), which may be better known due to wider media coverage. Sustainability issues are not yet considered as a shared responsibility, as teaching in designated hours was often suggested. The commitment of Italian teachers and schools to a stronger integration of sustainability issues into didactic programmes still needs to be improved. A change of perspective is urgently needed, whereby sustainability education should be seen as a collective responsibility.

Psychological Counseling during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Clinical Thoughts and Implications Arisen from an Experience in Italian Schools.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked as a psychologist in two schools: a comprehensive school (an institution including three school levels: kindergarten, primary school, and secondary school of first grade) and a Provincial Center for the Education of Adults (CPIA). This paper provides some clinical considerations that arose from this personal experience, focusing on practical implications for school psychological counseling. Among the main points, I noticed that students were eager to disclose information about themselves in a professional space, were not afraid of being ridiculed by classmates for attending the service, and spontaneously used artistic media. Using English (a non-native language for both the Italian psychologist and the CPIA student) emerged as an added value for immigrant students who were not fluent in Italian. This allowed them to attend the psychology service and share their thoughts and feelings despite their difficulties with Italian. In conclusion, psychological counseling services should be implemented in all schools and across all school levels worldwide to favor psychological well-being and spread a culture prone to asking for psychological help. Moreover, using a non-native language might be helpful when working with international students. Finally, sandplay therapy (and art) might be an additional option to verbal counseling in school settings.

Screen-based sedentary behaviours in Italian school children: the ZOOM8 study

Background: screen-based sedentary behaviours likely have a negative impact on many aspects of youth health and development. The purpose of this study was to describe the screen-based sedentary behaviours and to examine factors associated in a sample of Italian school children.
 Methods: 2129 children, aged 8-9 years, from the three main geographical areas of Italy were involved. Body weight and height were measured. Screen-based sedentary behaviours were evaluated using a parent-reported questionnaire that included items about the time spent watching television (TV) and using computer/playstation and other electronic games. Pearson’s chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were conducted to study possible associated factors.
 Results: more time was spent in screen-based sedentary activities during non-school days rather than on school days. More males than females watched television more than the recommended 2 hours a day and spent the same time using computer (PC), playstation and other electronic games. The presence of a TV in the child’s bedroom was significantly associated with geographical area, and inversely associated with mother’s education. Moreover, children with a TV in the bedroom had higher odds of being overweight/obese and watching TV more than 2 hours a day than those without a TV. According to multiple logistic regression gender, mother’s age and mother’s education were predictors of the total screen time.
 Conclusions: Italian children spent a significant amount of time in screen-based sedentary behaviours, exceeding media recommendations. In addition gender, mother’s age and mother’s education were predictors of the total screen time.

Examining links between social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing problems among Italian primary school children

ABSTRACT The study aimed to explore links between social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing problems among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were N = 748 children (387 girls) aged 7–11 years (M = 8.91, SD = 1.07) attending primary schools in Italy. Children completed an online questionnaire assessing subtypes of social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, social avoidance, unsociability) and indices of internalizing problems (i.e., social anxiety, loneliness, depression). Among the results, shyness was positively associated with social anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Unsociability was related to depression but not to social anxiety and loneliness. Social avoidance was positively related to loneliness and depression (particularly among older children) and negatively associated with social anxiety (particularly among boys). Results are also discussed in terms of the implications of the different subtypes of social withdrawal in late childhood and early adolescence.

Between Awareness and Acceptance: a more mature School Teachers’ Perspective on Integrated Learning one year after the pandemic outbreak

One year after the outbreak of the pandemic that provoked a forced and massive adoption of technology enhanced learning practices, followed by a continuous evolution of their delivery modalities (on-line learning, blended learning, parallel blended learning, hybrid learning) and, finally, by a strong commitment to come back to a “new normal”, we have investigated, by mean of a survey, the evolution of: a) perceptions and perspectives of Italian school’s teachers about integrated learning; b) the undergoing innovation process characterized by unprecedented features and vastness. The exploration has been conducted by integrating perspectives and factors introduced in the past by several models - TAM, UTAUT, DOI, TOE, KAM - to describe technology innovation and adoption processes. We observed a higher perceived teachers' technological and pedagogical preparation, together with a higher readiness of the schools to react to unexpected events or sudden prescriptions. A readiness that should be ascribed mainly to the quality of the management and to an increase in the level of collaboration and cohesion among the actors of the learning process, rather than to an enhancement of the technological infrastructures. Collaboration, indeed, emerges as the main peculiarity of this last year, an engine capable to foster the spread of competences and a beacon capable to guide the choice of teaching practices. The influence of contextual factors appears not relevant and that of the “perceived values” somewhat marginal. As far as the innovation process: the awareness phase developed satisfactory and, in parallel, the acceptance phase also started. The possible transition to the adoption phase appears uncertain and not easy to characterize. At the time of the survey, however, the teachers perceived, the integrated learning as a modality that could be used in the future to realize 36% of the school activities.

Teachers and gyms at the beginnings of gymnastics in Southern Italian schools. The 1864 survey

This paper presents an analysis of gyms and gymnastics teachers in Southern Italy in the 1860s based on the survey conducted by the Ministry of education in 1864. On the background of national and international literature, the research aims to explore the gyms’ material conditions and the forms of teachers’ education and training. It argues that both poor equipment and low-level training affected the teaching practices of the first generation of gymnastics teachers. The paper contributes to a better understanding of regional and local features of the process of nation-building after the Unification (D’Ascenzo 2013).