Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age,[2] and is divided into five stages: kindergarten (scuola dell'infanzia), primary school (scuola primaria), lower secondary school (scuola secondaria di primo grado), upper secondary school (scuola secondaria di secondo grado) and university (università).[3] Italy has both public and private education systems. Primary education Scuola primaria (primary school), also known as scuola elementare, is commonly preceded by three years of non-compulsory nursery school (or kindergarten). Scuola elementare 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, physical education and visual and musical arts.
Secondary education Secondary education is divided in two stages: Scuola secondaria di primo grado (Lower secondary school), also known as Scuola media, which corresponds to the Middle School grades, and Scuola secondaria di secondo grado (Upper secondary school), which corresponds to the high-school level.
Scuola secondaria di primo grado The Scuola secondaria di primo grado lasts three years (roughly from age 11 to 13), and provides further education on the subjects studied at the scuola primaria, with the addition of Technology and a language other than English (typically French, Spanish or German). The curriculum is the same for all schools. At the end of the third year students sit an exam which enables them to continue their education.
Scuola secondaria di secondo grado The Scuola secondaria di secondo grado lasts five years (even though some istituti professionali might offer a diploma after only three years). Every tier involves an exam at the end of the final year, called Esame di Maturità, required to gain a diploma and have access to further education: this exam takes place every year between June and July and grants access to University.[4]
The secondary school situation varies, since there are several types of schools differentiated by subjects and activities. The main division is between the Liceo, the Istituto Tecnico and the Istituto Professionale.
All of the Licei have many subjects in common, such as Italian Literature, or Mathematics, while other subjects are peculiar to a particular type of Liceo (i.e. Ancient Greek in the Liceo Classico, pedagogy in the Liceo delle Scienze Umane or scenography in the Liceo Artistico).
Types of Liceo include:
- Liceo Classico, which features Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, history and philosophy as its most important subjects.
- Liceo Linguistico puts emphasis on modern foreign languages learning and the languages usually taught are English, French, Spanish and German – although recently Russian, Arabic and Chinese have been introduced as well.
- Liceo delle Scienze Umane, where the emphasis is more on relational, behavioural, educational and juridical topics, such as pedagogy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, law, political economy and social research. It replaces the previous Scuola Magistrale (which once educated elementary school teachers).
- Liceo Scientifico, whose programme reminds in part that of Liceo Classico in teaching Italian, Latin, history and philosophy, but is more oriented towards mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science and computer science and is also focused on drawing and art history.
- Liceo Artistico, which is oriented toward arts teaching – both in a theoretical (i.e. art history) and practical (i.e. drawing sessions) way. Its subjects are painting, sculpture, decoration, graphics, design, audiovisual, multimedia, scenography and architecture.
- Liceo Musicale e Coreutico, which comprises two sectors:
- musicale, which specialises in music and teaches students to play an instrument.
- coreutico, which specialises in dance and choreography.
The Istituto Professionale offers a form of secondary education oriented towards practical subjects 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 3 years instead of 5) and is even more specific in terms of vocational course offerings than the Istituto Tecnico.
The Istituto d'Arte was a particular form of Istituto Professionale, which offered an education focused on art history and drawing. Today it is part of the Liceo Artistico.
The Italian school system also features the Scuola serale (evening school), aimed at adults and working students.
While the education received in a Liceo, which involves a broad and specifically academic curriculum, is generally considered necessary to enter University, even Istituto Tecnico and Istituto Professionale students have access to it, provided they pass the entry tests which are mandatory in most faculties.
A typical Italian student is 19 when he or she enters university, while in the UK and other countries, 18 is the more common age.
SUMMARY LEVEL EDUCATION
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