The Italian Constitution, in e art. 3 paragraph 2, enacts, generaliter, that Italian Republic has the duty of removing any obstacles of economic and social order, that, limiting the freedom and the equality of the citizens, prevent the full development of the human person, and the real involvement of all the workers to the political, economic and social organization of the Country; it deals with culture and education.

But, as a society changes, the school world inevitably evolves; in these last decades it has been felt the necessity to adjust the educational system to the new reality of our Country.

The Constitution deals with education particularly in the artts. 33 and 34, but quite a lot of other references may be found in it. One of the fundamental principles, article 9, concerns the obligation for the government to intervene for the development of culture and scientific and technical research; art. 30 states that it is the duty of parents to maintain, to instruct and to educate their children.

Art.. 33 it is particularly topical and under debate nowadays. It states the principle of freedom of science and arts and recognizes the possibility to set up private schools, with no economic contribution from the state: the law requires that students of the private schools that ask for parity should be given the same level of instruction of state schools, and establishes that private school should not receive public economic contribution.

A great debate has been opened lately on this point. Private schools, supported by the Catholic Church and the central-right political parties, maintain that all students and all families should have the same treatment by the state, and that the amount of money that the state doesn't spend on private school students should go to the private schools.

The question is still open and of great interest in the country, with demonstrations by students and families, mass media debates, articles in newspapers.

The last paragraph of art. 33, which was added later, gives the state universities the possibilities of deciding autonomous regulations.

This principle has found practical realization only lately, when the l Ministry of Education has granted statutory power to every athenaeum.

Art. 34 states the right and the duty to instruction: school is opened to everybody. Compulsory education is free and must last at least eight years, (N.B.: nine years in 1999), i.e. 5 of elementary school + three of Scuola Media + one of high school. Good students have a right to reach the highest degree of education, even if deprived of economic means.

Students may ask for school text in commodatum when they are at compulsory level.

At present (end of 1999) there is a debate in the country to verify the necessity of adapting the articles of the Italian constitution on education to the new needs of the society.

Some dates are important to be remembered when we consider the development of the Italian school system in the after-war period:.

1962, when the new Scuola Media (in which the Latin became optional subject) took the place of the more selective old one, in order to prolong the compulsory school system, that passed from five years to eight years. The previous double channel was abolished, that forced pupils to choose too precociously between a classical middle school (that gave the possibility to enter higher institutes and university) and a school for those who did not intend to continue studying;

1968, when state infancy schools were set up (frequency is optional and free);

1969, when students from any high school were given free entrance to any university faculty;

1990, when elementary school (five years, compulsory) was reformed, both in the curricula and in the general organization, with the introduction of more than one teacher per class and the teaching of a foreign language.

1992, when new curricula and new programs were introduced as a didactic experiment in part of the school system (the so called Brocca programs).

After Scuola Media students may choose among several types of high school: classical, scientific technical, vocational (commerce, agriculture, industry, craftsmanship) and artistic.

All of them last five years and give students a state diploma that enables them to enrol in any university faculty.

The schools of artistic education and the music Conservatories are autonomous; their degrees are considered equivalent to high school ones

At present (end of 1999) the Italian school system is on the point of being radically transformed, to comply with the European system (the 1997 Berlinguer project).

The representative committees At the beginning of the seventies the principle that the management of the school is to be shared by all school components, teachers, students staff members, was introduced in the school system.

At present there are the following committees:

1. The Teachers' Council, formed by all teachers and presided over by the Headmaster. It takes decisions on the didactic organization of the school.
2. The School Council, formed by representatives of the teachers, of the parents, of the students (only at high school level), of the staff. It is presided over by a parent. It takes decision on the administrative activity of the school.
3. The executive committee, elected by the school council ( one teacher, one parent, one student -only high school, the secretary, presided over by the headmaster), which executes its decisions.
4. The Class Council, formed by all teachers of the class (each class has one), plus two students (only high school) and two parents.

There are also other elective committees at town level, district level, national level, which organize common activities, such as training courses, or make proposals to the education offices at various levels.

The debate on school that has developed in Italy in the last decade has underlined the demand for a general renewal of the educational system; decisions have been taken to modify the unified middle school and the elementary school (that had already undergone certain changes lately), with the purpose to guarantee educational continuity and to favour the social, cultural, economic and occupational development of the Country.

As the necessity of adjusting the Italian system to the European one seemed necessary, in January 1997 the Ministry of National Education have elaborated a project, called Berlinguer Project, with the aim of deeply reforming the system.

The project suggested the elevation of the compulsory schooling from 8 to 10 years, the conclusion of the curriculum at the age of eighteen (now it is nineteen, so one year earlier) and the so called "school autonomy".

It also suggested to cancel the distinction among elementary, middle and high school to rearrange the school years into 2 cycles: Primary Cycle or Basic School and Secondary Cycle or High School.

Recently, (22-Sept-1999), the Chamber of Deputies has passed a law which takes in due consideration the Berlinguer project. This law establishes that the elementary school and the first two years of Scuola Media will constitute a seven year cycle.

From a pedagogical point of view, the first cycle should allow to overcome the existing gap between elementary school and Scuola Media . It will certainly the repetition of identical programs in the two levels and it will favour the building of a less "compressed" teaching, susceptible of deepening and enrichments.

The first two years after infancy school should provide to an elementary cultural schooling, to a first approach to computer technologies, to the studying of a foreign language, to favour the progressive awareness of the surrounding world and of children's own rights and duties.

The three following years will have the purpose to consolidate competences, abilities and the acquired knowledge, with the aim to strengthen the methods of learning and to encourage autonomy and the application of more and more articulated knowledge.

At the end of the primary cycle, in the thirteenth year of age, students will pass to High School, once their achievements are verified, with new evaluation methodologies, still to define.

The new secondary school will be divided in two segments, school of orientation and high school; the first one, 2-years, will complete the period of compulsory obligation and it will prepare pupils to the greater complexities of the 3-year high school, or to enter the sector of vocational schools and the labour market.

In the first two years students will study subjects of a specific course, It won't concern a two years only, old conception by now, but of a two years that close to the specific subjects of the course they choose (classical-humanistic, scientific, technical, technological, artistic and musical), and also other subject, so that they can pass from one typology to another.

An element of novelty will be represented by the possibility for students to follow practical and professional courses, integrative and complementary, as a better preparation to the vocational courses of the following three-year segment.

The Berlingue project proposes that at the end of the first two years all students should take an exam, in order to get the compulsory- school license and the possibility to enter high school.

The following 3-year segment will become deeper in contents and will maintain a strict contact with the external reality, with formative experiences, stages and effective interchange with the productive and cultural reality.

An activity of orientation to university and labour market is also included.

After three years, students will take a second state exam, getting a degree, which will allow them to enter university, post secondary courses, or the labour market

The new exame, introduced in 1998-1999, replaced the 1968 one.

It is articulated in the following way way:

a. 3 written tests: Italian (varied typologies), the subject that characterizes the chosen course, a multi-discipline test (single or multiple questions, problems, practical and professional cases, development of projects etc.),

b. an oral interview on all the subjects of the last year.

The exam aims at evaluating the level of knowledge, of information and competence of the students.

At the end of the exam a general final vote is given, as the total of the points got by the students: maximum 15/100 for each written test; maximum 35/100 for the oral interview , maximum 20/100 given by the class teachers, as a sort of school credit students get at the end of the 3-year segment and before taking the exam.

In certain cases, students with good points can be given extra 5/100 points at the end of the exam.

The exam is given by 3 teachers of the class and 3 teachers from other schools. The president of the committee is a headmaster from another school.

The minimum students must get to pass the exam is 60/100.

A law that allows economic didactic and administrative autonomy has been recently passed by the parliament.

Such law introduces further elements of change in the school system. In the future schools will decide autonomously about a part of the curricula, teaching methodologies, flexibility of the school year, economic resources and other.

As the law has not already been fully applied, the consequences are not yet active.

For a really total and coherent reconstruction of the school system, the Berlinguer project also hypothesizes the revision of university formation, introducing channels of alternative post secondary education.

Law 30 -12- 1971 N. 1204