This document summarizes key aspects of the Italian school system. It describes the structure of schools including kindergarten, primary, middle, and secondary school. It also outlines the national curriculum and exams, teacher training requirements, and hiring processes for permanent and temporary teaching staff. Class sizes and teacher work hours are also addressed.

1. Istituto Comprensivo “Ninni Cassarà” Partinico
Comenius Project
“Protecting the environment”
Meeting in Italy
20th-22nd October 2010

3. Italian school system is organized
centrally by the ministry of Education.
Schools also have a limited didactic and
organisational autonomy.

4. Kindergarten pupils from 3 to 5 years old
Primary school from 6 to 10 years old
Scuola media (middle school)
from 11 to 13 years old
At the end of middle school students have to pass
a national examination to get a diploma.

5. students can choose among various types of
upper secondary schools:
- Lycaeum (classical, scientific, linguistic or
artistic, high schools which prepare for
University)
- Technical high schools (split into many tracks)
- Vocational high schools (split into many tracks).
Secondary schools last five years and conclude at
the end of grade 13 (age 18) with a national final
exam (“State Exam”).

6. At the beginning of the first year of each school
level (elementary, middle, secondary school),
pupils are split up into class groups which will be
the same for several years.
Pupils of the same age don’t usually mix to form
different class groups.
Except for some labs they have lessons always in
the same classroom, where the different teachers
turn over.

7. That’s because once students have
chosen their track, syllabi are fixed, there
are no (or very limited) options (i.e. different
languages, or religion vs. individual study
or optional subject).
Lessons usually last 60 minutes and
take place in the morning or (just two days a week) till
the afternoon if they have full time.
One teacher for each subject
accompanies the same group of pupils for
several years (three in middle school,
between two and five in secondary school).

8. The number of teaching hours per subject
and the curricula are defined by ministerial
decree in the whole country.
In primary school teachers can teach more
than one subject even if usually there are
specialised teachers for Religious education
and English.
In secondary school teachers teach one or
two subject s except for Italian teacher that
can teach Italian, History and Geography.

9. During the past years, because of different
government and new laws, many changes have
been made to the Italian school.
Some of these are:
• the reintroduction of one main teacher in
primary school,
• the grading of the students’ behavior,
the raising of the number of students for each
class (till 30 or 35),
• a strong reduction of the number of teachers,
caretakers and members of the school offices.

10. Access to permanent teaching staff is subject to
specific teacher training offered by the
universities:
Teachers of kindergarten and primary school
have to attend a 4 years laurea course in
primary education sciences;
Teachers of secondary school have to get a
degree (4 or 5 years) and to pass a
competition.
 Teachers who want to specialise in support
to disabled pupils receive a specific
additional training.

11. Up to now (law n.124/99) selection of permanant
teaching staff has been done through two
different lists:
• 50% is taken from a competitive examination
list ( based also on qualification and curriculum)
•50% taken from a list on the basis of
qualifications and curriculum

12. Temporary
teachers
Recruitment of teachers for temporary
position, is done by the local education
authority or by the headmaster on the basis of
lists of candidates in possession of the
qualifications.
Permanent and temporary staff have the same
rights and duties.

13. For teachers just enrolled there is a trial
period that lasts a school year and included an
additional training course.
The headmaster appoints a tutor for each
teacher of his/her school.
At the end of the year the teacher writes a
report about the exeperience done and a
commitee for the evaluation confirms
his/her admission in permanent staff.

14. Teaching activities covering not less than 5 days a
week
-For 25 h. in kindergarten
-For 22h. plus 2 devoted to planning didactic
activities in primary school
-For 18h. a week for secondary school
-Additional activities fixed by the teachers
assembly

15. We have no promotions
There are two possibilities to increase the basic
compensation:
- it raises every 6 years of service provided that
the teaching function has been carried out without
demerit
- The passage of teacher to the function of
headmaster (dirigente scolastico) through a
course competition based on qualifications and
exams.