“TO PROMOTE GENDER EQUALITY THROUGH CIVIC EDUCATION”

ISTITUTO DI ISTRUZIONE DI II GRADO D’ ISTRUZIONE SECONDARIA DI II GRADO “VITO CAPIALBI” – VIBO VALENTIA -ITALY

Referente del Progetto: prof.ssa Anna Pia Perri

A EUROPEAN HUG

• Italy is a country in southern Europe. It is comprised of a boot-shaped peninsula and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern borders with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.

• Italy is divided into 20 regions.

• The independent countries of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italian territory.

“Vito Capialbi” Secondary School "Vito Capialbi" Secondary School is in the capital town of the province of Vibo

Valentia which has about 35,000 inhabitants. The province - which consists of 50 villages and towns spread over an area comprising mountains, plains and coastal resorts - has an overall population of 175,00. Many of the students in the school are commuters and travel by car or by bus every day to the town of Vibo Valentia from the outlying villages. Public transport is scarse in the afternoon that is why extra-curricula activities are limited. The school itself is situated in the town centre. The building is about 40 years old but has recently been renovated. It has a big yard and car parking facilities. There is a good school library, two modern computer labs, a science lab and a physics lab. There is also a music room, a gym and a big Hall for meetings and other activities. About 1,000 teenagers - from 14 to19 years old - attend the school which is subdivided into four major areas of study : languages, psychology, sport science and social studies. All four areas consist of a five-year course finishing with the State Exam which gives access to University Faculties.

Rome

Milan

Turin

Florence

Venice

Naples

Main Italian Cities:

• Rome: capital city, famous for its history and art ;

• Milan: capital of fashion and finance ;

• Turin: main Italian industrial city ;

• Florence: famous all around the world for its art ;

• Naples: known for its art ;

• Venice: beautiful city set on a lagoon .

Our region: Calabria• Calabria is a region in southern Italy

which is the "toe" of Italy. It is bounded in the north by the region of Basilicata, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and in the east by the Ionian Sea. The region has a population of about 2 million.

• Its economy is mainly based on agriculture and tourism. Farms produce cereals, vegetables, oranges, almonds, wine, and figs. There are also extensive olive groves.

• The region is divided into five provinces: Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, Crotone and Vibo Valentia.

Our town: Vibo Valentia• Vibo Valentia was originally a

Greek colony, called Hipponion. It was founded, probably around the late 7th century BC, by the inhabitants of Locri, one of the main cities of Magna Graecia.

• Its population is about 35,000.• Nowadays, Vibo Valentia is an

agricultural, commercial and tourist centre.

• Many towns by the seaside are located within the province of Vibo Valentia, among them, Tropea and Pizzo, where lots of people spend their summer holidays.

Tropea and Pizzo

Tropea is a very famous seaside resort

located near the Tyrrhenian sea; it attracts

thousands of tourists every summer.

Pizzo, another beautiful town by the seaside,

is also known because of its particular ice

cream called “tartufo”.

Italian Politics• Italy is a democratic republic with a President. • Another important person is the Prime Minister. • Italy has two parts to the Parliament :

The Chamber of Deputies(630 members) The Senate (315 members)

• Legislative bills may originate in either House and must be passed by a majority in both.

Italian School System

• In 2003 the Italian Parliament planned a reform of the school system (law 53/2003) which, however, has not yet been fully implemented.The changes include a new combined school/work path for students between the ages of 15 and 18, as well as greater choice and decentralisation.

• The Reform redefines the age limits for compulsory education and guarantees to everybody the 'right to education and training for at least 12 years or until the acquisition of a qualification (18 years of age)'.

• One of the most important innovations of the law is that it lowers the age of access to school: on a voluntary basis, children can attend nursery school when they are aged two-and-a-half instead of three, and primary school when they are five-and-a-half instead of six.

• School education will be divided into two cycles, preceded by nursery school and followed by possible attendance at a university or institute of 'higher technical education and training' (Istruzione e Formazione Tecnica Superiore, IFTS).

First Cycle• Primary School: Children who turn six

years of age by 30 April of the school year will be able to enter the eight-year first cycle of school education. The first cycle will be divided into primary school (five years) and lower-secondary school (three years). Primary education will involve an opening year and two two-year periods.

• Lower-Secondary School: At the end of the five years of primary school, students will attend lower-secondary school, where the education will be divided into a two-year period and then a third year that will serve as a link with the second cycle. At the end of the first cycle, the student will have to pass a state examination. English as a second language and the use of computers will be included on the curriculum from the first year of primary school. A second EU language will be added in lower-secondary school.

Second Cycle• The second cycle of school education (after the eight-

year first cycle), will provide two possibilities: going to high school (liceo), of which there will be eight different types - artistic, classical, human sciences, economic, linguistic, musical, scientific and technological; or attending a vocational training school. All students will have the possibility of changing the type of school chosen within the high school system or of switching from high school to vocational school and vice versa. High school education will be managed by the central state in collaboration with regions, while vocational training schools will be exclusively the competence of the regions.

• High-school education will be divided into two two-year periods plus a fifth year, at the end of which students wishing to attend university will have to pass a state examination. A state

• Students that choose vocational training schools will have the option of completing their entire training path between 15 and 18 years by 'alternating school and work periods'. This 'school-work' path will be beyond the competence of the school institutions and based on agreements signed with companies or 'with the respective representative associations, chambers of commerce … or public and private bodies'.

System of Evaluation

• The Reform also provides for the creation of a system of evaluation. A National Institute for the Evaluation of the Education System (Istituto nazionale per la valutazione del sistema di istruzione) will periodically examine the education and training paths and the overall quality of the education and training supply provided by the scholastic institutions. It will also organise and manage, together with examination committees, the state examinations provided for at the end of the school education cycles. Evaluation will concern both students' behaviour and learning achievements.

School Year 2005 – 2006

CALENDARCALENDAR

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