I wanted to focus on the Italian school system because ever since I visited there last year, I feel in love with the country and the way they live their lives over there. I had a hard time finding information beyond the early childhood years for schooling and assessment in Italy, but what I did find was very interesting.
-Pre-primary school has become a right of all children of Italy and 90% of 3-5 year olds are going to one of three kinds of early childhood school offered in Italy
-Parental participation is huge in Italy. A big part of Italian culture focuses on social relationships and children are very important part of those relationships. Parents and teachers create close relationships and, according to the article, sometimes parents are so involved that they continue their involvement with the school even after the child has gone on to another school. It also said that sometimes parents peak in the windows of the school to make sure the children are ok.
-Italians feel it is a social responsibility to teach children and they believe in high quality early childhood care and education
As I was looking for more information on primary schools in Italy, I came across a very interesting article about England and the testing that occurs there. Apparently, according to the article, tests are used to "police schoools and control what is taught." The tests hold schools accountable and they can very stressful for children. According to the article, children in England face the most tests during schooling than other countries in Europe. The article also listed some facts about a few other countries in Europe:
France
-Schools test facts and skills, but there isn't much formal testing and there isn't much stress put on students
Italy
-one test per subject per term. When it is time for the GCSE exams, children are given long breaks, but the tests are very stressful
Germany
-5-6 year olds-no testing done. Children are just "graded" on their behavior
-At age 7-there is continuous assessment and by 10-11 these test decide which secondary school the child will attend
It was really interesting to look at all of these countries. I see a lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences too. While we have stressful testing of students, a test doesn't decide which secondary school you attend. To me, that seems harsh, but then again, maybe children would take tests more seriously if it actually accounted for something.
http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v1n2/new.html -Italian preschools article
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/our-children-tested-to-destruction-779790.html ---Article about the UK and other European countries
I also came across the same article about European countries! I was shocked to read about how strict the testing is in Europe! What did you experience in Italy? Is their culture very different than ours, from what you experienced while you were there?
ReplyDeleteI was there on vacation, so it was totally from a vacation prespective, but there are so many differences in their way of life over there. It is more centered on family and friends and less on the hustle and bustle of life, like in the US. Their mealtimes are long, drawn out occasions used not only for eating, but also for socializing. It is a very laid back way of life. For example, they take siesta every day, which I believe was from 12-2, depending on where you were and that is when they eat their big, main meal of the day and relax. They go back to work after that, but it is just not as work or money focused. At least not what we saw of it. It's a beautiful country and I thought their culture was amazing!!
ReplyDeleteHi Amber, first thanks for your beautiful post, very informative. Second,I do agree that testing does seem very strict in Europe!I do think that it is very interesting that testing in England is used to police schools to see what is being taught! Im not sure how I feel about that, I see some positive and some negative affects.
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