History of Mathematics Education - Italy

📝 Abstract

Starting from the Italian unification in 1861, we describe the role of mathematics teaching in the Italian system of education giving an account of the main features of Italian mathematics education, and referring to the official syllabi, to the used textbooks, to the debates. We will see that interesting proposals in a period of about 150 years will always have to face a tendency to rigor as well as a resistance towards innovation.

💡 Analysis

Starting from the Italian unification in 1861, we describe the role of mathematics teaching in the Italian system of education giving an account of the main features of Italian mathematics education, and referring to the official syllabi, to the used textbooks, to the debates. We will see that interesting proposals in a period of about 150 years will always have to face a tendency to rigor as well as a resistance towards innovation.

📄 Content

HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION - ITALY Marta Menghini Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Roma Sapienza, Roma, Italy. Keywords: Mathematics education, history of education, Italy, school-mathematics, teaching of geometry, teaching of arithmetic. Contents 1. Introduction: System of education in the period of the unification of Italy 2. The role of mathematics in the Italian educational system 3. Mathematics in primary school and the training of the teachers 4. Main features of Italian mathematical instruction 5. The reform of 1923 and the birth of the scientific Lycée 6. Attempts for a reform of secondary schools: 1950 to 2010 Bibliography Summary Starting from the Italian unification in 1861, we describe the role of mathematics teaching in the Italian system of education giving an account of the main features of Italian mathematics education, and referring to the official syllabi, to the used textbooks, to the debates. We will see that interesting proposals in a period of about 150 years will always have to face a tendency to rigor as well as a resistance towards innovation.

1. Introduction: System of education in the period of the unification of Italy. The first law to regulate Italian schools was the Casati Law of 1859 (R.d. 13.11.1859, n. 3725). It was originally passed only for the Kingdom of Sardinia (including Piedmont) and for Lombardy, and was later gradually extended to the other Italian regions after their annexation in 1861 and
2. The Casati Law established the general characteristics of state education. As to secondary education, the law distinguished between a classical education, whose purpose was the acquisition of that literary and philosophical culture which opened the way to the State Universities (Art. 188), and a technical education, which aimed at providing a general culture to young people intending a job in the public services, in industry, in commerce and in agricultural management (Art. 272). Secondary education consisted of a first and a second level: to cover classical secondary education, the Casati Law introduced the Gymnasium and the Lycée (Ginnasio- Liceo), which were to become the point of reference for all Italian secondary education (Vita, 1986). The Technical School (Scuola Tecnica) and the Technical Institute (Istituto Tecnico) were set up for technical secondary education (Table 1.) Pupils entered the Gymnasium and the Technical School after a primary school that extended over four years. The Technical School thus covered the age range of the present-day middle school (11-14), while the Gymnasium lasted for five years and hence included the first two years of high school. The Technical School soon lost its characteristic of being a preparatory school for the Technical Institute and was transformed into a school for general education. After the Gymnasium, pupils completed their classical education by attending the Lycée for three years. Initially, a technical education was shorter than its classical counterpart because, after the three years of Technical School, only a further three years were foreseen at the Technical Institute. However, through an 1871 reform (circ. 17.10.1871) the duration of the Technical Institute was extended to four years and, in some cases, to five. In 1896 a Complementary Course (parallel to Technical School and to the lower Gymnasium, i.e. the first three years of the Gymnasium) was introduced – followed by the Scuola Normale - specifically for the Istruzione Magistrale, which was the cycle aimed at educating primary school teachers. The norms related to Istruzione Magistrale were included among the norms for primary instruction. Table 1. Instruction in Italy at the end of 19th century
3. The role of mathematics in the Italian educational system

The period of the unification was without a doubt a unique period in the scientific history of Italy. Patriotism intertwined with a lay and positivist mentality born with the Risorgimento (the Italian Resurgence), which was widespread amongst the bourgeoisie, gave scientific research a central role that it was not to have again (Brigaglia & Masotto, 1982). Mathematical research flourished and mathematics teaching was considered relevant at all levels of education. 2.1. Mathematics in classical and technical instruction

The characteristics of the teaching of mathematics in classical and technical instruction are well defined by the Law of Education Minister Coppino in 1867 (R.d. 10.10.1867). As for the classical instruction, we read, in the first page, that Mathematics in classical secondary schools is not to be regarded only as a set of propositions or theories, which are useful in themselves […] to be applied to the needs of life; but primarily as a means of intellectual culture, as a gymnastics of the mind aimed to develop the power of reasoning, and to help that right and sane criterion needed to distinguish what is true…[all translations ar

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