Table of Contents
Country Profile
The Italian Republic is located at the center of Mediterranean and shares borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, and Vatican City in the world map. Italy has a parliamentary republic government with a multi-party system (Larner, et al., 2018). Executive branch is known as Council of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister, or “President of the Council” (Presidente del Consiglio) (Larner, et al., 2018). Legislative power belongs to the bicameral houses of Parliament and in the Council of Ministers. The judiciary branch is led by the High Council of the Judiciary, a body led by the President (Larner, et al., 2018).
According to World Population Review (2018), the population of Italy in 2018 is about 59.26 million. There are close to 1 million Romanian citizens who are registered in Italy, followed by Moroccans and Albanians with a population of half a million each (World Population Review, 2018). The largest ethnic group in Italy is the Native Italian, consisting 96% of the population each (World Population Review, 2018). It is ranked 3rd by EU (2015) as the most populous country in Europe. 71.4% of Italians are claimed to be Christians making it the majority religion in the country with Catholicism being the dominant Christian denomination, which accounts for 93% of all Christians in Italy (Sawe, 2017).
Vatican city, is the headquarters of over one billion Catholics worldwide, comprises the territory of Italy, and most of the Catholic religious orders have their offices in Italy, specifically Rome (Sawe, 2017). Italian is the official language of the Italian Republic and is the third most widely spoken language in the European Union. Italian is spoken in the Vatican and is the official language of the Holy See. It is also widely spoken in Malta and parts of Slovenia and Croatia (Augustyn, et al., 2015).
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The Revolutions of 1848 were a major turning point in European politics (Augustyn, et al., 2017). Although each participating country had its own set of issues, revolutionaries were united in their desire to abolish the long-standing feudal system in Europe and end monarchical rule (Augustyn, et al., 2015). The Italian revolution of 1848 was born in Rome, where liberal thinkers and intellectuals rallied to eradicate foreign Austrian rule over the Italian states. After ruler Pope Pius IX abandoned the war against Austria, Italian revolutionaries overthrew his administration and declared a new Roman Republic (Augustyn, et al., 2015).
The Italian unification or Risorgimento continued where the Revolutions of 1848 left off, led by political figures Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi, and helped arouse the national consciousness of the Italian people (Augustyn, et al., 2017). It made a series of political events happen so that the Italian states could become free from foreign domination and politically united (Augustyn, et al., 2017). In 1861, Italy was finally declared a nation-state under the ruler Victor Emmanuel II.
After World War II on July 2, 1946, Italians voted in a referendum in favor of a Republic and abolished the monarchy (King et al., 2018). The Constitution of Italy was created by a Constituent Assembly and came effective on January 1, 1948. Under the Constitution, the republican form of government cannot be changed. It also guarantees personal freedom such as the privacy of correspondence, right to travel at home and abroad, the right of association for all purposes that are legal, and the right to hold public meetings (King et al., 2018).
Italy was the birthplace of great phenomena such as the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and the European integration. Old St. Peter’s Church was probably the first significant early Christian basilica, a style of church architecture that came to dominate the early Middle Ages. Old St. Peter is located in the site of the present St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. St. Peter’s Basilica is considered the greatest achievement of Italian Renaissance architecture that is originally designed in the early 16th century. The Italian fashion industry is also one of the well-known one around the world.
Milan is seen as the fashion capital of Italy because a number of well-known designers are based there and it is the venue for the Italian designer collections. Among the best-known and most exclusive boutiques of Italy’s top fashion designers are Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino Garavani, Benetton, Fendi, Gucci, Versace, Moschino, and Prada. Not only that, music has always taken an important place in Italian culture. Italy is the country that has given birth to opera, and piano and violin were also invented in Italy.
Education in Italy is free and compulsory for eight years for children between the ages of 6 and 14 (Foot, et al., 2018). Primary school lasts 5 years and the curriculum is the same for all students, which includes classes such as Italian, English grammar, math, science, history, and arts. Secondary education (Scuole medie) is further divided in two stages: Medie Inferiori, which refers to the middle school grades, and Medie Superiori, which is the secondary school level (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018). Middle school lasts 3 years and Scuole Superiori lasts another 5 years. Every tier involves an exam at the end of the final year. Secondary schools are of different types and allow students to choose alternative career paths depending on their interests and aptitude (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018).
There is the Liceo, the Istituto Tecnico (technical institute) and the Istituto Professionale (professional institute) (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018). The Liceo includes secondary schools oriented towards the study of the arts and sciences (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018). The Licei are again divided into four types: Liceo Classico, which offers Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, History and Philosophy as its most important subjects; Liceo Scientifico, where the emphasis is on scientific and mathematical topics; Liceo Linguistico, which focuses on languages; and Liceo Artistico, which is oriented toward the arts (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018). According to Knoema (2015), youth literacy rate in Italy is 99.9%. To be specific, the rate of youth female illiteracy is 41.6% and adult female illiteracy is 63.6%. Elderly literacy rate is 97.4%, and elderly female illiteracy rate is 70.1%.
Additionally, Italian education system encompasses daycare centres (asilo nido), which is for children in the age group 0-3 years old (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018). There are public as well as private daycare centers, and municipalities are in charge of public daycare centers. Nursery School (scuola per l’infanzia) is an infant school, which is for the children who fall in the age group of 3-5 years old (Pragati Infosoft Pvt. Ltd., 2018).
Analysis
Italy’s K-16 education system is similar to that of the United States in a way that both of them require and provide free state education to children who reside in the country. This is because Italy values education as much as the United States does and believes in every individual’s right to education. Italy has kindergarten, primary school, two secondary schools, and university just like the U.S. does, and the primary school curriculum seems to be similar to that of the U.S. as well. These institutionalized structures seem to be similar to each other due to the common features of education system and value among the western countries. As literacy rate is as high as that of the U.S., it seems that Italy is as developed and focused in the education as the U.S. is. Also, like the United States, Italy has a regular exam every year in a secondary school to assess student learning.
On the other hand, Italy has shorter primary school year and longer secondary school year than the United States does, as its primary school lasts for five years and secondary school for eight years. It also provides more diverse options of secondary school so that the students can specifically think of which path they would like to choose for their future. It seems that secondary students in Italy have better chances to plan ahead their future and try whatever they want to do during their secondary school year so that they are able to strive for their own interests and talents. American secondary schools also let the students choose courses they want to take, but the range of choices are narrow and most of the students follow the similar path which lead them to college after secondary school.
Given that Italy’s upper secondary school lasts for five years, Italy seems to value secondary level education more than the elementary level work and puts efforts to ensure the quality of the secondary education. Also, each type of secondary school is very specific in its purpose and narrowed down into detailed subject area. In this regard, I expect that I would explore a variety of specified and professional course material if I am placed in the high school there. Not only that, I feel that the students are more passionate about their school work and subjects as they should be doing what they choose to do. This might result in better quality of education and more effective classroom environment for the students as well.
Regarding the primary school, I project that the art and history classes in Italy would be different from the elementary art and history classes in the United States as Italy is very well-known as a home for countless magnificent art work and has pride in its numerous marks throughout the world history. I wonder how students are educated in their heritage in their art or history class and what kind of national values are embedded in teaching. I have taught lesson on Renaissance in the history class in my placement in Indiana, and I showed a lot of pictures of artwork and architecture to the students. I wonder how teachers in Italy introduce those artworks in their lesson on Renaissance and the extent of the prior knowledge of the students in the Renaissance.
Also, there are a number of choices of high school allowed for the students, and, in high school or upper secondary school, the system is split by subject, which makes the curriculum vary according to the area of study selected. This seems to be possible because there are a variety of different aspects of culture in Italy, and students are given more choices to explore in accordance with their own interests. Rather than being restrained by ideal educational path that society forces to go which is what the majority of the students in the United States are going through, students in Italy are educated to be more open to the life they want to live and learn how to lead their way throughout their life and make decisions in every step so that they can pursue the life they want.
Applications
As Italy has been at the center of European civilization and rich in its culture, I am looking forward to seeing all the artwork, architecture, and music that could be cited in my future Social Studies classroom. I am excited that I will be equipped with better knowledge of the European history and quality experiences as a Social Studies teacher through student teaching in Italian secondary school.
Not only that, Italian students begin to learn English in primary school, which gives me expectation that I will have opportunity to teach both English as a New Language to general students and Social Studies to the students who can speak English. Having both opportunities would be amazing because teaching Social Studies to the foreign students seems to be an interesting communication.
I am curious about the kind of reactions or responses students will show on the way I have learned to teach Social Studies in the United States as their feedback and official or unofficial responses would teach me a lot about the way to teach Social Studies. Also, I am excited for the opportunity to teach English as a New Language because I also learned English as a second language, so I know what steps it takes to learn second language, making me confident that I can be in their shoes when I teach English to them. I don’t have license addition in Teaching English as a New Language, so I am happy to gain such extra valuable experience through Global Gateway program.
As I learned that their government is different from that of the U.S., I would prepare myself to be more acquainted with how their government system works so that I will be more qualified Social Studies teacher. Also, I would learn more about European History so that I can answer some questions students might be asking in my Social Studies class from their perspective as an Italian citizen. I have yet no idea what type of school I will be placed in Italy, whether it will be Liceo or middle school or something else, but I would like to know about the specific curriculum of the host school and see if I can make use of the curriculum and lesson ideas in to my future classroom as well.
