In Italian Education

0E-14098 Bulletka 1964, No.21 A PROGRESS ANDTRENDS IN ITALIANEDUCATION a ANTHONY A. SCARANGELLO Assistant Professor of Education University. of Delaware U.S. DEPARTMENTOF HEALTH,EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education r. Foreword Italy isafascinating mixture of the old and thenew.On theonehandareits centuries of tradition, andonthe other, partsof Italy which would almost qualifyasunderdeveloped areas.Professor Scarangello is wellawareof this complexity ashepresents aspectsof the current educationalsituation against the background of Italianeducational history. In addition tohis secondary school teaching andadminis- trative experience,Mvfessor Scarangello, duringthe last severalyears,madeastudy of Italian educationaspartof his doctoral work at ColumbiaUniversity. GEORGE A. MALE, Specialist in Comparative Education. W esternEurope. U.S. Office of Education. V . 411 '4. 4 Contents Pap FOREWORD INTRODUCTION Part I. A Survey of ItalianEdu-lationalHistory 3 The Laic Trendin Education__ 3 The BoncampagniLaw 3 The Csati Law 3 Abolition of Theology in State Universities g 4 The Coppino Law 4 The Orlando Law 5 The Daneo-Credaro Law 5 The GentileReform Education Underthe Fascists 6 The School Charterof 1939 After World WarII 7 Part II. ItalianEducation Today 8 Administration ofthe Schools 8 School Organizationand Structure '10 Teacher Education 11 Higher Education 12 University Administration 14 Part III. CurrentIssues,yroblems,and Trends 15, The Latin Question_ 4 15 The GonellaPlan for EducationalReform 17 The Fanfani10-year Plan 17 Educational Television 20 Recurrent EducationalProblems 21 Text tableTotalpupils and teachers in'Stateand non-Stateschools__ 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 24 GLOSSARY 27 APPENDIX A.EducationalProvisions of ItalianConstitu- tion of 1947 29 APPENDIX B.Italian Institutionsof HigherLearning___ _ 31 VI Introduttion Jutting out into anddominatingthe centralMediterrane by her geographical position,Italy sharesher northernborders witliFrance, Switzerland, Austria,and Yugoslavia.The Italianpeninsulacorn- Prises anareaof approximately116,000squaremiles andthe coastline extends for 2,472 miles,excludingSicily, Sardinia,and smallerItalian islands. Accordingto thecensusof 1961, the populitionof Italywas50,463,- 7G2. The nation's populationdensity (43:3per squaremile) isoneof the world's highest. It wouldappearthat Italy'sgeographical positionguaranteed her from theveryfirstanimportant place inthe annals of worldhistoiy, and inretrospect, this indeed has been thecase.Often the initiator, sometimes thepawn,of worldmovements, her formative rolecannot be denied. Most Italian historycan,in fact, be summarizedaround the "4R's":Romck, Religion,Renaissance, andRiRorgimento. For hundreds ofyears; Romewasmistress of the ancient.world. Andeven asdecayset.in and the Empirebegantodecline, the tide of Christianity, also emanatingfrom the "City of theSeven Hills," advanced. From the fall ofRome 0476 A.D.) untilthe Msorgimento Italy found itself thepawnocvarious invaders. Atonetimeoranother, Goths, Franks,Germans, Spaniards, and Austrianscontrolledpor- tions of Italy, andfor several hundredyears some17,000squaremiles of Italian territorywereunder the temporal authorityof the Popes. Internecine warfareaddedto the invasions and kept the peninsula inastate of disunity.. Had theChurchnot inherited the authority formerly held by theimpire,it is quite possible that thefragmenta- tion might havebeeneven more severe. 4 Unitywas-forcedonItaly in 1805 by Napoleon, who proclaimed himself King._After Waterloo, however, theAustrians replaced the Frenchasthe majorpowerin the peninsula. But therewereItalians whowerenot content with their nation's lotas a meregeographical expression, and rebellions brokeout inmany areasafter therestora- tions dictated bythe Congreis of Vienna, udder Metterrlich. Themovement for Italian unity is knownasthe Rigorgimento and its architectswereCount Camille di Cavour, Giuseppe Mazzini, and PROGRESS AND14ENDS Giuseppe Garibaldi,who have been called "head, heart, andhand\f united Maly. In 1861,f Victor Emmanuelwasproclaimed King of Italy, but it\ was notuntil 1870 that the Italiantroopsentered Rome, thuscom- pleting theprocessof unification.Subsequently, Italy followedan expansionist policy, allied herself withGermany and Austria- Hungary in the Triple Alliance,but chose, however,to enter World War Ionthe side of the Allie&After thewar,economic probleins and fear of Comniu. nism,along with other factors, paved thewayfor the Fascist dictatorship of Mussolini. At the end of WorldWar II Italy lay in ruinsphysical, political, economic., and educational.A plebiscit6 held in 1946 resulted inthe proclamation' of theItalian Republic.King Humbert II abdicated and joined his father, King VictorEmmanuel III, in political exile. Despite Italy's lack otnaturalresourcesand its unenviable position atthe end of World War II, theachievements of the Italianeconomy overthepast 13yearshave been -increasingly impressive. The Italian people have shown particular vitality intheareasof fashion, tourism, shipping, motion pictures, and literaturein tkepostwarperiod. R T PART 1 ASwevey of ItalianEducational History During the hedieval period,through the Renaissance,anduptothe 18th century,theee\clergy enjoyedavirtual monopoly in the fieldof latan.education.certain forces combined inthe 18th century to break the Church'smonopoly of education and toinstitute in its stead thebeginnings of Itiy educationunder the civilpowers.But, though the Jesuitslost their holdon.sevend Italian states,religious instruction continued toretain its importantposition. The Laic TrendIn Education Itwasnotuntil the Napoleonicinvasions that the modern laictr*nd in education beganand the first stepsweretaken towardanentirely lay and modern organizationof education.After Napoleon's defeat, however, the Jesuitsreturned and reassumed control ofsecondary education.Thus, Italian educationbecame againadominion of the clergy.But it.wasincreasingly clear thataunified/and centralized school systemwasbound to follow,onceItaly,acollection of indi- vidual states,waspolitically unified. Beginningnearthe middle of the19th century,a seriesof laws, decrees, regulations, andConstitutions shiped the Italianeducational system. The lioncompagnILaw The Boncompagni Law(October 4, 1848)abolishedmany,of the privileges of the clergy andeliminated their interference in state school.%Itwasthe most importanteducationalenactmentof the State of Piedmont and laterbecame the basis and foundVionof the Casati Law. of 1859,which in turn remained thenucleu* of Italian eduCational law until the Gentile Reforms of 1923. Thetasatl Law The Legge Catati of 1859 wasnamed atter the thenMinister of Public Instruction, Count GabrioCasati.Originally the lawwas 3 711481 4 PROGRESS AND TRENDS a meant to provide basic education for the states of Piedmontand Lombardy, but it latercametoform the basis foranationalsystem of education. The 374 articles of the lawattest to its all-encompassing character, regulating all.levdis of education, primary through university,on anationwide scale.The educationalsystemwasorganiied in three branches: Primary, secondary, classical, and highereduca- tion:The law visualized education for all children betweep theages of 6 and 12asthe task of the municipalities, while other levelswere leftto the state. Mario Pagella has reprinted the entiretext of the Casati Law in his Cento anni di 8toria della scuola Banana (One Hundred Years of the History of the Italian School).'Based,as 'wasthe Boncompagni Law, otfthe Frenchsystemof centralization of authority, the Casati Law continued theprocessof secularization of the schools.Religion wasretained, however,as arequired subject in the elementary grades, butwaselective in the secondary.Private educational institutions werepermittedto continue withtheir workaslongasthey complied withstaterequirementsaslaid down in -the law. Abolition of Theology In Stab Universities A furtherstepin the secularization of educationwastaken in 1871 with the introduction ofabill in the Chamber of Deputies calling for the abolition. of the faculty of theology in allstateuniversities. The billwasintroduced by Minister of Public. Instruction Correnti onMay 13, 1871, andwassubsequently pigeonholed.Reintroduced by Correnti 2yearslater, itwaspa,ssed by the ChamberonJanu- dir ary26, 1873.2Thus, chairs of theology instateuniversitieswere abolished. The Coppino Law The Coppino Law of 1877was,in effect, the first.tomake education compulsory in Italy.The Casati Law had basically formulated the educationalsystem, but, leftthe provision.of the first 6yearsof education to the municipalities, which could evade the lawasbeing too expensive to implement;approach it half-heartedly;ormake everyeffort to liveuptothe letter of the law,astheysawfit.This resulted,asmight have been _expected, invery'"spotty" education. Some municipalitiesprOvided excellent facilities and instruction; others madenoeffort in this direction. lento anni di storia delta 11011014 Italiasadada legge (Moan al 1158. Roma : Edislone del'unlone eattollea Italian* Insegnanti med1,4958.p.47-81. I Indice generae delgi atti parlamentari storks dei 1;01kt/4414ton:1i 18411-1117. Rona lipografia della Camera del Deputati, 1898.p.8204 INITALIANEDUCATION 5 To counteractthis situation,the Coppino Lawmade obligatory theprovisionof elementaryeducation for allchildren betweenthe agesof 6 and 9.It alsoextendededucation toevery,part ofItaly, whichthe CasatiLaw of 1859had not effectivelydone.However, wherethe CasatiLaw had beenveryexplicit about

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