Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini CHILDHOOD Through the eyes of school

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini CHILDHOOD in the PAST Roman age Pater familias XIX century The child belongs to the parents XX century Maria Montessori a pedagogist A child is a person Declaration of the Rights of the Child 1959 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini NURSERY For children from 3 months to 3 years old First part of 20th century Nurseries organised by companies Focus on care/welfare Seventies Public institutions Organised by local municipalities

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini NURSERY Nineties “micro” nurseries organised by families or co-ops Now managed by the Ministry of Education instead of the Ministry of Health Specific training for practitioners

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini NURSERY Aims: To develop: Cognitive skills Motor skills A good psychological and emotional balance ISTAT data: 67% of children from 0 to 2 years old are looked after by grandparents 44% of children do not go to nursery because thier parents think “they are too young”

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini INFANT SCHOOL Admits children from 3 to 5 years old Widely dispersed across the whole country 1968 foundation of the infant school by the Ministry of Education Management Public (municipality and ministry) private

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini INFANT SCHOOL Not compulsory, but integral part of children’s entitlement to education Timetable usually 40 hours per week

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini INFANT SCHOOL From acting as: Care/induction into group setting: asilo (nursery) Support for families: scuola materna (Kindergarten) To “environment for learning, relationships and life experiences” (Nuovi Ordinementi, 1991): scuola dell’infanzia (Infant School) University training sought for teachers

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini INFANT SCHOOL 1st part of the 1st cycle of schooling Main characteristics: Holistic, ecological and integrated approach Organisation of a deliberatelystructured context for learning in order to interweave physical, experiential and linguistic strands of development

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini INFANT SCHOOL Teacher as a manager/director Implicit curriculum Explicit curriculum to develop Areas of Experience defined by National programme (Campi di esperienza)

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini PRIMARY SCHOOL For children from 6 to 10 years old From 1861 the 1st compulsory educational institution to be widely dispersed across the country Management: mostly public (State)

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini PRIMARY SCHOOL Provision between 24 and 30 hours per week, according to family requests Usually 40 hours per week in big cities Evolution of the National Programm: From the idea of “fanciullo” (‘little one’) who must learn to read, write and count” (1955) To the idea of “child” who must acquire life skills (2007)

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini PRIMARY SCHOOL A CHILD WHO IS An active participant in a complex world A bearer of inalienable rights A bearer of a personal history A bearer of unity and diversity with respect to his/her origin An agent of his/her own development and learning

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini PRIMARY SCHOOL A CHILD WHO Learns to appreciate study, culture, social rules and the citizenship Can be independent and is able to acquire the competences required for living in a complex world Is self-aware and able to control and express his/her emotions Is sympathetic and unselfish Has his/her own rhythms of learning, which are respected

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini Special Needs 1976, law 360, gives pupils with SEN the opportunity to choose between special school or mainstream school 1977, law 517 requires the integration of all pupils with SEN in mainstream schools, starting from the infant school The legal decision n. 215/87 of the Constitutional Court extends the right to integration at all levels of schooling 1992 law 104: the integration must help pupils with SEN to be autonomous/ independent and to learn the competences needed for life in society

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini Special Needs TOOLS. Functional diagnosis PDF PEI

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini FUTURE CHALLENGES Not enough time to communicate, share experiences and “live together” Too much exposure to media Number and diversity of relationships with adults

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini FUTURE CHALLENGES Not enough time to spend with peers Trend to avoid frustration, risk-taking and (hard) work Too much structured time Isolation of families

Plymouth october 2012 A. Bosio C. Valentini CHILDHOOD through the eyes of school THANK YOU! “A good teacher is not someone who provides the answers but someone who asks good questions” M. Giroux