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Italy

main page Education in Italy

In Italy education is provided in Italian and, by law, it is mandatory until the age of 16. However, there are some English-medium schools which follow the International Baccalaureate Organization program (which is recognized by Italian Ministry of Education). Its principles refer to the idea of an international and global education, combining pedagogical principles with strict standards.

In Italian high-schools, since 2010, some subjects can be taught in a language different from Italian (according to the concept of Content and Language Integrated Learning - CLIL) in order to strengthen the students' linguistic competences.

Primary schools

Although the national education system is held in Italian, by law, it's possible for children to attend international private schools (which are considered equivalent in their status - they are called "scuole paritarie") that use English as the only language for education.

English-medium primary schools in Italy follow the International Baccalaureate Organization program which has a sub-section dedicated to children (Primary Years Program - which includes children from 3 to 12 years old).

Secondary schools

Secondary education is made up of lower secondary schools (from 12 to 14) and upper secondary schools (from 14 to 19). In both cases, children have the possibility to attend entirely English-taught schools.

Concerning middle schools, some of them offer the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), which is addressed to students aged 11 to 16; the majority of these schools are located in regions of Northern and Northern-Central Italy. . Concluding this course of studies, Italian children come to the end of compulsory education.

Since 2010, the Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) approach has been applied in all high schools, though the teaching of a non-linguistic subject in a foreign language (L2), including English (this methodology has been implemented in graduation year, except for "liceo linguistico", were it has been introduced in the third year and fourth year with a second L2). Students aged 16-19 can choose to attend the IB Diploma Programme (DP), which is recognised by some universities. This two-year curriculum is mostly provided by schools in Northen and Northen-Central Italy. It is more widely available than the Middle Years Programme.

Higher education

Italian universities mainly provide courses taught in Italian, but in recent years there has been an increase in the number of English-Taught Programmes, especially in Master degrees. According to the law, it is possible for universities to hold classes in a language different from Italian (particularly English), in order to promote cultural exchanges and student mobility, as well as strengthening the cooperation with foreign universities. Nowadays there are some Bachelor and Master degrees that exclusively use English as their vehicular language, while some others are held only partially in English.

In 2012 a controversy sparked between the university's senate of the Polytechnic University of Milan and some of its professors, regarding the decision to use English as the sole language of all the Master degrees and the PhDs.. The Italian Constitutional Court examined the matter and delivered the judgement n° 42/2017 which states that the complete exclusion of Italian from these courses clashes with the principle of primacy of the Italian language enshrined in the Constitution. Furthermore the Court explained that the internationalization of the universities cannot be achieved by marginalizing the Italian language, therefore there must be a balance between the offers provided by the university in the two languages.