Each country has its own characteristics of the educational system. Somewhere everything is controlled by the state, and somewhere it is left to chance, somewhere there is room for imagination and self-realization, and somewhere, any action of the teacher is regulated by the strict framework of existing standards. What is the education system in Italy, we will tell further.
State attitude
The most important thing to know about the education system in Italy is that it is completely subordinate to the state. The country's leadership thoroughly took the reins of government in this area: it develops training programs, monitors the qualifications of teachers, conducts tests for potential teachers, and so on. The educational system in the country of pasta and ravioli is quite flexible, it is constantly changing - and this is done in order to modernize and reform it, to achieve an ideal state. Despite all the rigidity and control, the best education system in Italy can not yet be called, but this is precisely what the state is striving for.
Varieties
The education system in Italy consists of three so-called components. These are preschool children, students and studios. Neither the first nor the last in this state are mandatory points, so any resident of the ravioli country must certainly go through only the average full cycle of education, which begins at six and ends at fourteen. However, we will not get ahead of ourselves - more on each type of education and on each of its steps will be described later.
Secondary education: grades
Altogether in Italy there are three stages of education, which together constitute the average full cycle of education - the initial and two stages of the secondary. The first stage lasts three years, the second, as well as primary education, by the way, five years. Thus, the total duration of all secondary education among Italians is thirteen years.
Only after that you can go on to higher education and go to university, which, incidentally, is not so easy to do - a large influx of people wishing to do a pretty serious competition for a place at the University of Italy. It is interesting that only the first two steps are compulsory - elementary and junior high schools - and at the age of fourteen, a resident of Italy may well go to work and not bite on the granite of science.
Preschool children
Pre-school education in Italy, as already mentioned, is not included in the category of “voluntary-compulsory”. Compared to school, it is in a rather neglected form: the state has thrown all its forces to the middle level, not too caring about how the training of tiny Italians in nurseries and kindergartens takes place. This is probably also why some parents prefer not to send their child to institutions of this type, instilling in them the necessary and the most up-to-date knowledge, including social knowledge. However, according to statistics, more than ninety percent of Italian children go to kindergarten. They take the baby there already in two or three years.
Kindergartens in Italy are divided into two stages: the first nursery - they are called asilo nidi, and the second directly kindergarten, which bears the name scuola materna. In a day nursery you can “turn in” your child at the age of three months. This is a great option for working parents - and there are most of them in Italy, and therefore the demand for nurseries is very high. Poor families have an advantage. The cost of a baby’s stay in a manger depends on the number of hours per day (paid every hour) and actually on the “status” of the kindergarten itself.
The peanuts have been in the garden for three years - so they are ready to go to school and move to a new level of education already in five or six years. This is a significant difference between the Italian system of education and the Russian one - we have a child who is five and six years old is considered to be a toddler, absolutely not ready for school (of course, if we are not talking about geeks - but this is more the exception than the rule). Kindergartens (but not nurseries!) In Italy are both private and public, with more than half of the latter. If parents have to make a down payment in private kindergartens and then make a certain amount on a monthly basis, then state kindergartens are formally free, although in reality parents still incur certain expenses - for example, they pay for food and transport (children are brought to the kindergarten and taken away by shared bus) . Although there are more state gardens, there are very few places in them, and therefore it is necessary to submit an application in advance in order to “stake out” a place for yourself.
In nurseries, babies can be from half past seven to half past one - five hours a day. There, children play, learn to interact with each other, learn the world. Groups in Italian kindergartens are formed large - from fifteen to thirty people, however, of the same age (teams of different ages are formed only in areas with a small population). Each group has at least two educators. Typically, kindergartens work five or six days a week, and children can stay there seven hours a day.
What activities does the education system in Italy offer for preschool children? Aimed mainly at creative development - modeling, music, painting and so on. As a rule, children are not taught to read and write toddlers in public gardens - only in private ones. In the same way, they don’t deal with language in such kindergartens. By the way, many kindergartens are organized at churches - and then the nuns are raising children, and a lot of time is devoted to instilling spirituality in them.
Types of Schools
In Italy, there are both public schools (second level of education) and private schools. And if Italian children are free to choose which of these institutions to go to gnaw at the granite of science, then foreign citizens do not have such an alternative - they can study exclusively in private or international institutions, state ones will not accept them. Next, we will talk more about those and other types of schools.
State schools
There are many similarities and few differences between public and private schools in Italy. The curriculum is the same there and there. They don’t give marks in any of these institutions, but instead note the successes and failures of students in the verbal form (“excellent”, “bad”, and so on). The training is divided into two semesters for half a year, the students study for five days a week (on weekdays). Opportunities for gaining knowledge at home, such as, for example, in our children, have little Italian citizens, all of them are obliged to come to their educational institution. At the same time, classes form different-sized ones - that is, healthy children and disabled people can be determined to study together, they do not make any difference between them.
Every year, the children in June must pass an exam confirming their knowledge. Without this exam - or rather, without positive results on it - they will not be transferred to the next stage, the child will remain a second year student. The exams are strict, and after graduating from elementary school (as well as junior high) - that is, before moving to the highest level of training - they are completely tough. The selection is serious, those who do not pass it either remain in the second year or are forced to go to work.
Private schools
Studying in Italy in private schools from public schools differs only in that it is forbidden to issue documents on education in such educational institutions, and therefore children must pass all examinations at a public school, and in a private school they can only get a certificate. In addition, there are fewer private schools in Italy - as are students in classes. If in public schools the normal tendency is a very dense staffing of classes, then in private institutions this is not observed.
Of the international schools in Italy (they are all private), there are Russian, English, American, and Canadian institutions.
First Level: Elementary School
As already mentioned above, studying in Italy at the initial level takes five years - these are children from 5-6 to 10-11 years old. At this time, the kids are studying a whole complex of subjects at the same level without focusing on any particular area of knowledge. They are taught reading and writing, mathematics and geography - in general, all compulsory disciplines. Only religion is a little Italians are free to choose to study voluntarily.
The system of primary and secondary education in Italy implies the possibility of free education - of course, if the child goes to public school. Moreover, as already mentioned, a foreigner does not have the right to visit a state institution, but he is obliged to receive primary and secondary education, regardless of how legally he and his family are in Italy.
To go to high school, the kids must pass two exams - oral and written. With satisfactory results, they will receive a certificate of primary education and go to the secondary educational level. By the way, an elementary school in Italy is called scuola elementare.
Second level: junior high school
This stage is also required for every young Italian. As already mentioned above, at this stage, the students are trained for three years, and this happens in the period from ten to eleven to thirteen fourteen years. In scuola medla - this is exactly the name of this level of the educational process - the child is engaged in languages, mathematics, science, literature, history, technology - in general, a standard set of subjects of an ordinary school. At the end of each year, small Italian citizens pass an exam in each subject - written or oral.
Third Level: High School
The senior school age in Italy is 14-19 years. Five-year term - this is exactly what an Italian teenager needs to get ready to enter a university, or to get a profession. The thing is that when moving to high school, the student must decide whether he will subsequently receive higher education or not. If so, then he will continue his studies at one of the lyceums - it is these institutions in Italy that are preparing for admission to the university. If not, then after high school, such an Italian has a direct road to college, which is approximately equal to our technical school. There you can get, as we say, secondary specialized education to go to work. If after that a person wants to go to university, he must go through a year of preparation.
As for lyceums, they are of several types and, in fact, precede training in a specialty in a higher institution. That is, choosing a lyceum, a child of high school age already chooses a future profession. For example, if a child enrolled in an artistic lyceum, therefore, in the future he will go to such an institution, where singers or actors are trained. If he went to the pedagogical - it means he plans to teach and so on. In addition to the above, in Italy there are linguistic, musical, classical, technical and natural-scientific lyceums. At the end of them, it is required to pass exams, the results of which will become a pass or non-admission to a higher educational institution.
Higher Education in Italy
So, finally, we have passed to the last stage of pasta formation in the country. It begins at the age of nineteen - it is at that age that the average Italian graduates from high school. The choice of institutions for obtaining a "tower" is pretty decent: these are universities, colleges, and academies with conservatories.
Higher education in Italy is also divided into three different levels. The first is called Corsi di Diploma Universitario, it is an analogue of our bachelor's program - with the only difference being that Russian bachelors all study for four years, and Italian - from three to four (if they are not doctors, they will have to study for six years). Students are engaged in compulsory general subjects, optional optional, as well as undergo practical training.
The second stage in Italy is the master's program, or Corsi di Laurea. Here, depending on the chosen specialty, they study from two to three years (they still study medicine for the longest time).
Finally, the third step is doctoral studies, or Corsi di Dottorato di Ricerca. It involves conducting its own research work, its defense and obtaining a doctorate. It is interesting that you can pass this level of education not only in the university of Italy where you studied, but also in special specialized institutions. However, immediately after graduation from a university, you cannot enter a doctoral program - first you must work for three years in a specialty, that is, to gain practical skill. Only then can you apply and, after successfully passing the entrance test, be enrolled in Italian doctoral studies.
A few more general words about higher education in the country of ravioli. Firstly, it can be either university or non-university (the latter includes colleges and academies - for example, linguistic or diplomatic; so-called fashion and design schools are also very common in Italy, for example, the Academy of Fine Arts (Florence) is popular among applicants - Italy is generally considered the number one country to receive such an education). Secondly, the universities of Italy, as well as schools, are both private and state-owned. And if in the latter “training” is conducted exclusively in Italian, then in private it is also possible in English, which for many who do not know the language is salvation. Thirdly, the cost of one year of study at a state university of the country is five hundred dollars (in private institutions, prices are, of course, an order of magnitude higher; each university sets its own cost, on average, it ranges from nine thousand euros to twenty-two). State universities in all of Italy - 47, private - only nine.
Interestingly, the school year in Italy begins in October or November, and ends in May and June. A student must pass three sessions in a year, but he is free to determine when and what he will take, since an individual training plan has been developed in Italy. In general, for the entire course of study, each student should accumulate about 19-20 subjects listened to. Before graduation, as in Russia, Italian students defend their diploma, however - this is the peculiarity of studying in Italy! - if they did not have time to prepare the work on time, then they can continue to study further exactly as much as they need.
Interesting Facts
- Universities in Italy still have many centuries-old traditions. For example, on holidays, it is customary for local students to wear multi-colored robingud-style caps.
- There are no exam tickets in Italy, and passing an exam is extremely difficult, because the university gives only a small fraction of what a student needs to know. That is why out of ten people, as a rule, only three get to the graduation diploma.
- To enter educational institutions like the Academy of Fine Arts (Florence), you need to not only pass the competition and pass the exams, but also provide your portfolio.
This is information about the education system in Italy. No matter where you study, let your study be a joy to you and bring only pleasure!