Italy: From state monopoly to rising of a system of schools

Abstract

In the last 25 years, a number of reforms have modified the Italian school system: to make a long story short, school system has moved from a centralized, monopolistic and standardized one to a more autonomous system of schools. In that new form, private recognized schools (paritarie) have a recognized space, and regional and local authorities play a greater role. To understand how this process has been developed and fulfilled, the chapter starts from a short historical vision, describing the cultural and political processes that have determined the educational structures. Three main trends are discussed: from standardization to autonomy, from state monopoly to legitimization of private schools, from centralization to local empowerment. Then it elaborates an array of rolling reforms concerning the teachers' qualification and career, the assessment of the system, the vocational versus general education, the changes in organizational models and so on. Finally future reform directions are projected.