Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age, and is divided into five stages: kindergarten (''scuola dell'infanzia''), primary school (''scuola primaria'' or ''scuola elementare''),

lower secondary school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

(''scuola secondaria di primo grado'' or ''scuola media inferiore''), upper secondary school (''scuola secondaria di secondo grado'' or ''scuola media superiore'') and university (''università''). Education is free in Italy and free education is available to children of all nationalities who are residents in Italy. Italy has both a private and public education system. In 2018, the Italian secondary education was evaluated as below the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

average. Italy scored below the

average in reading and science, and near OECD average in mathematics. Mean performance in Italy declined in reading and science, and remained stable in mathematics.

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...

and Bolzano scored at an above the national average in reading. Compared to school children in other

countries, children in Italy missed out on a greater amount of learning due to absences and indiscipline in classrooms. A wide gap exists between northern schools, which perform near average, and schools in the South, that had much poorer results. Tertiary education in Italy is divided between

public universities A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national university ...

, private universities and the prestigious and selective superior graduate schools, such as the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany. Bologna University, founded in 1088, is the oldest university in continuous operation, as well as one of the leading academic institutions in Italy and Europe. The

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and comput ...

, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, LUISS, Polytechnic University of Turin, Polytechnic University of Milan,

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, and

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...

are also ranked among the best in the world.

History

In Italy a state school system or Education System has existed since 1859, when the Legge Casati (Casati Act) mandated educational responsibilities for the forthcoming Italian state ( Italian unification took place in 1861). The Casati Act made primary education compulsory, and had the goal of increasing literacy. This law gave control of primary education to the single towns, of secondary education to the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, and the universities were managed by the State. Even with the Casati Act and compulsory education, in rural (and southern) areas children often were not sent to school (the rate of children enrolled in primary education would reach 90% only after 70 years) and the illiteracy rate (which was nearly 80% in 1861) took more than 50 years to halve. The next important law concerning the Italian education system was the '' Legge Gentile''. This act was issued in 1923, thus when Benito Mussolini and his

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

were in power. In fact, Giovanni Gentile was appointed the task of creating an education system deemed fit for the fascist system. The compulsory age of education was raised to 14 years, and was somewhat based on a ladder system: after the first five years of primary education, one could choose the 'Scuola media', which would give further access to the "liceo" and other secondary education, or the 'avviamento al lavoro' (work training), which was intended to give a quick entry into the low strates of the workforce. The reform enhanced the role of the ''Liceo Classico'', created by the Casati Act in 1859 (and intended during the Fascist era as the peak of secondary education, with the goal of forming the future upper classes), and created the Technical, Commercial and Industrial institutes and the ''Liceo Scientifico''. The ''Liceo Classico'' was the only secondary school that gave access to all types of higher education until 1968. The influence of Gentile's

Idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected t ...

was great, and he considered the Catholic religion to be the "foundation and crowning" of education. In 1962 the 'avviamento al lavoro' was abolished, and all children up to 14 years had to follow a single program, encompassing primary education (''scuola elementare'') and middle school (''scuola media''). From 1962 to the present day, the main structure of Italian primary (and secondary) education remained largely unchanged, even if some modifications were made: a narrowing of the gap between males and females (through the merging of the two distinct programmes for ''technical education'', and the optional introduction of mixed-gender gym classes), a change in the structure of secondary school (''legge Berlinguer'') and the creation of new ''licei'', 'istituti tecnici' and 'istituti professionali', offering students a broader range of options. In 1999, in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Bologna Process, the Italian university system switched from the old system (''vecchio ordinamento'', which led to the traditional 5-year ''Laurea'' degree), to the new system (''nuovo ordinamento''). The ''nuovo ordinamento'' split the former ''Laurea'' into two tracks: the ''Laurea triennale'' (a three-year degree akin to the

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

), followed by the 2-year ''Laurea specialistica'' (Master's Degree), the latter renamed ''Laurea Magistrale'' in 2007. A credit system was established to quantify the amount of work needed by each course and exam (25 work hours = 1 credit), as well as enhance the possibility to change course of studies and facilitate the transfer of credits for further studies or go on exchange (e.g. Erasmus Programme) in another country. However, it is now established that there is just a five-year degree "Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico" for programmes such as Law and a six-year degree for Medicine. In 2019, Education minister Lorenzo Fioramonti announced that in 2020 Italy would become the first country in the world to make the study of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and sustainable development mandatory for students.

Primary education

Primary school (''scuola primaria'', also known as ''scuola elementare''), is commonly preceded by three years of non-compulsory nursery school (or kindergarten, ''asilo''). Primary school lasts five years. Until middle school, the educational curriculum is the same for all pupils: although one can attend a private or state-funded school, the subjects studied are the same (with the exception of special schools for the blind or the hearing-impaired): the students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, and physical education. Some schools also have Spanish or French, musical arts and visual arts. Until 2004, pupils had to pass an exam to access middle school (''scuola secondaria di primo grado''), comprising the composition of a short essay in Italian, a written math test, and an oral test on the other subjects. The exam has been discontinued and pupils can now enter middle school directly. Usually students start primary school at the age of 6, but students who are born between January and March and are still 5 years old can access primary school early; this is called ''primina'' and the students doing it are called ''anticipatari''. For example, a student born in February 2002 can attend primary school with students born in 2001.

Secondary education

Secondary education in Italy lasts 8 years and is divided into two stages: middle school (''scuola secondaria di primo grado'', also known as ''scuola media'') and high school (''scuola secondaria di secondo grado'', also known as ''scuola superiore'',. Middle school lasts three years (roughly from age 11 to 14), and high school lasts five years (roughly from age 14 to 19). Every tier involves an exam at the end of the final year, required to earn a degree and have access to further education. Both in middle school and high school, students stay in the classroom for most of the time (barring such classes as physical education, which most often takes place in the gym), so it's the teachers who have to move from one classroom to another during the day. In the lower middle school pupils start school at 8:00 am and finish at 1:00 pm (they may start later; they have a five-hour daily schedule, excluding variations), while in high school they attend school 5 to 8 hours a day depending on the day of the week and on the rules of the school. Usually, there are no breaks between each class, but most schools have a recess that lasts 15 to 30 minutes halfway through. If students have to stay in school even after lunch, there's a longer break to let them eat and rest. There are three types of high school, subsequently divided into further specialization. There are subjects taught in each of these, such as Italian, English, mathematics, history, but most subjects are peculiar to a particular type of course (i.e.

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

in the Liceo Classico,

business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms with ...

in the Istituto tecnico economico or

scenography Scenography (inclusive of scenic design, lighting design, sound design, costume design) is a practice of crafting stage environments or atmospheres. In the contemporary English usage, scenography is the combination of technological and material ...

in the Liceo Artistico): * Liceo (lyceum) :The education received in a ''Liceo'' is mostly theoretical, with a specialization in a specific field of studies which can be: :* humanities and antiquity (liceo classico), :* mathematics and science (liceo scientifico), :* foreign languages (liceo linguistico), :* psychology and pedagogy (liceo delle scienze umane), :* economy (liceo economico-sociale), :* fine arts (liceo artistico). ::Also, some schools have special options with more hours for some subjects, some lessons taken in English, or some different courses (called indirizzi) like liceo scientifico has "indirizzo liceo scientifico" (or "indirizzo tradizionale"), with latin, or "indirizzo liceo scientifico-scienze applicate" where there's not latin, there is informatics. *

Istituto tecnico Secondary education in Italy lasts eight years and is divided in two stages: '' scuola secondaria di primo grado'' (lower secondary school), also known as ''scuola media'', corresponding to the ISCED 2011 Level 2, middle school and '' scuola se ...

(technical institute) :The education given in an ''Istituto tecnico'' offers both a wide theoretical education and a specialization in a specific field of studies (e.g.: economy, administration, technology, tourism, agronomy), often integrated with a three/six months

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

in a company, association or university, from the third to the fifth and last year of study. * Istituto professionale (professional institute) :This type of school offers a form of secondary education oriented towards practical subjects (engineering, agriculture, gastronomy, technical assistance, handcrafts), and enables the students to start searching for a job as soon as they have completed their studies, sometimes sooner, as some schools offer a diploma after three years instead of five. Any type of high school which lasts 5 years grants access to the final exam, called ''esame di maturità'' or ''esame di stato'', that takes place every year between June and July and grants access to university. This exam consists of an oral examination and written tests. Some of them, like the Italian one, are the same for each school, while others are different according to the type of school. For example, in the ''Liceo classico'' students have to translate a Latin or ancient Greek text; in the ''Liceo scientifico'' students have to solve mathematics or physics problems; and so on. An Italian student is usually 19 when they enter university.

Higher education

Italy has a large and international network of public or state-affiliated universities and schools offering degrees in higher education. State-run universities of Italy constitute the main percentage of tertiary education in Italy and are managed under the supervision of Italian's Ministry of Education. Italian universities are among the oldest universities in the world; the University of Bologna (founded in 1088) notably, is the oldest one ever; also, University of Padua, founded in 1222, and

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

are the oldest universities in Europe. Most universities in Italy are state-supported. 33 Italian universities were ranked among the world's top 500 in 2019, the third-largest number in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany. There are also a number of Superior Graduate Schools ('' Grandes écoles'') or ''Scuola Superiore Universitaria'', offer officially recognized titles, including the ''Diploma di Perfezionamento'' equivalent to a Doctorate, ''Dottorato di Ricerca'' i.e.

Research Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

or ''Doctor Philosophiae'' i.e. PhD. Some of them also organize courses Master's degree. There are three Superior Graduate Schools with "university status", three institutes with the status of Doctoral Colleges, which function at graduate and post-graduate level. Nine further schools are direct offshoots of the universities (i.e. do not have their own 'university status'). The first one is the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (founded in 1810 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as a branch of École Normale Supérieure), taking the model of organization from the famous École Normale Supérieure. These institutions are commonly referred to as "Schools of Excellence" (i.e. "Scuole di Eccellenza"). Italy hosts a broad variety of universities, colleges and academies. Founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is likely the oldest in the world. In 2009, the University of Bologna is, according to

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

, the only Italian college in the top 200 World Universities. Milan's

has been ranked among the top 20 best business schools in the world by

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

international rankings, especially thanks to its

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

program, which in 2007 placed it no. 17 in the world in terms of graduate recruitment preference by major multinational companies. Bocconi was also ranked by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

as the best worldwide in the specific category Value for Money. In May 2008, Bocconi overtook several traditionally top global business schools in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

Executive education ranking, reaching no. 5 in Europe and no. 15 in the world. Other top universities and polytechnics are the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, the LUISS in Rome, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the

Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 18 ...

(which in 2011 was ranked as the 48th best technical university in the world by QS World University Rankings), the

University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

(which in 2005 was Europe's 33rd best university, and ranks among Europe's 50 and the world's 150 best colleges and in 2013, the Center for World University Rankings ranked the

62nd in the world and the top in Italy in its ''World University Rankings''.) and the

(whose research and teaching activities have developed over the years and have received important international recognition). This University is the only Italian member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), a prestigious group of twenty research-intensive European Universities. It has also been awarded ranking positions such as 1st in Italy and 7th in Europe (The

Leiden Ranking The CWTS Leiden Ranking is an annual global university ranking based exclusively on bibliometric indicators. The rankings are compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (Dutch: ''Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologische Studies'' ...

– Universiteit Leiden).

Summary

Compulsory education is highlighted in yellow.

Standards

In 2018, the Italian secondary education was evaluated as below the

average. Italy scored below the

average in reading and science, and near OECD average in mathematics. Mean performance in Italy declined in reading and science, and remained stable in mathematics.

and Bolzano scored at an above the national average in reading. Compared to school children in other

References

External links

Information on education in Italy, OECD
– Contains indicators and information about Italy and how it compares to other OECD and non-OECD countries
Diagram of Italian education system, OECD
– Using 1997 ISCED classification of programmes and typical ages
Also in Italian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Education In Italy