5.3 Education

Education 🏫 📖

Education is free in Italy for all students and is divided into 5 stages: kindergarten, primary school, lower secondary school, upper secondary school, and university.

Kindergarten (scuola dell'infanzia) 👦 👧

• 3 years of nursery school
• Ages 3-6; American preschool
• American preschool

Primary School (scuola primaria/scuola elementare)

• 5 years
• Ages 6-11; American elementary school
• The curriculum is the same for EVERYONE: Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, and physical education

Lower Secondary School (scuola media)

• 3 years, 8 AM - 1 PM
• Ages 11-14; American middle school
• Students stay in the same classroom for most of the day

Upper Secondary School (scuola superiore)

• 5 years, 8 AM - 4 PM
• Ages 14-19; American high school
• Students move from classroom to classroom
• Every grade level has an exam at the end of the year (esame di maturità) ✍🏾 📝
• Same curriculum structure for the first 2 years and then... specialization

Liceo

• Theoretical knowledge, specializing in a specific field (humanities, science, languages, art)
• Normally students would then proceed to a university

Istituto Tecnico

• Theoretical knowledge, specializing in a specific field of study, integrated with a 3-6 month internship at a company, business, or university
• Normally students would then get a technical job

Istituto Professionale

• Practical subjects (engineering, agriculture, technical assistance, handicrafts), enabling students to find a job immediately after graduation

University (università) 🎓 👩🏼‍🎓

• Network of public and state-affiliated universities
• Some of the oldest universities in the world: the University of Bologna, the University of Padua, and the University of Naples Federico II
• Offer MANY potential subjects — popular areas include international business, art history, literature, fashion, and Italiano :)
• So-called 3+2 system- Laurea Triennale - 3 years of school, "Bachelor Degree"- Laurea Magistrale - Laurea Triennale + 2 years of specialization, "Masters Degree"- Laurea Magistrale Quinquennale - unique 5 years of school for certain programs such as Law, Arts, and Music

University of Bologna, Image Courtesy of uceap 

Italy vs USA: Education Edition

• Italy—five years in high school, school on Saturdays, number grades 🔢,  fewer extracurriculars
• USA—4 years in high school, weekends off, letter grades 🔠, extracurriculars are very popular (sports, clubs, theater, etc.)
• BOTH—balance between group and individual work, English is taught, students receive more responsibility with age