Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics - IEA

PART 2: ITALY
105
Teacher candidates on lists awaiting assignment are also considerably younger than those
currently in service: 65% of applicants are between the ages of 30 and 45, compared to
only 41% of practicing teachers in the same age range. Furthermore, 56% of practicing
teachers are 45 years of age or older, suggesting a wave of retirements in the near future.
Between 1996 and 2006, approximately a third of all teachers retired, compared to the
European average of one-fifth.
The breakdown of subject areas among prospective teachers on applicant lists also
suggests continuing shortages of secondary-level mathematics and science teachers.
In 2003, just over 10% of applicants were from the natural sciences, 8% were from
mathematics or physics, and nearly 5% had technology-related backgrounds. In
contrast, just under 15% had backgrounds in foreign languages, 20% were from the
arts, and 9% had studied economics and/or law.
It is also worth noting that teachers from the south of Italy and the Italian islands make
up a disproportionate share of the teacher workforce. Because of the limited number
of positions in these areas, many teachers must relocate in order to find teaching jobs.
Consequently, geographical mobility among teachers is an important policy issue
because displaced teachers who are able to find jobs in their home regions leave their
current schools. Many teachers in smaller towns and rural areas also hope to move to
larger urban centers. During the 2000/2001 school year, almost 200,000 Italian teachers
applied to change either their location or the subject they taught. Of those 200,000, 30%
were able to make the requested changes.
Teacher education
Traditionally, Italian teachers in pre-primary and primary schools were required to
earn degrees from secondary-level normal schools and institutes. However, a 1998 law
required that these teachers have at least university-level degrees in primary teaching.
The new Bachelor’s-level degree consists of approximately four years of course work, or
a minimum of 240 credits. The degree program has two tracks—pre-primary teaching
and primary school teaching. Since 2000, secondary-level teachers have had to complete
a university degree in their subject and a postgraduate specialization, which focuses on
the teaching of specific subjects. Activities directed toward the specialization consist of
approximately 120 credits, after which prospective teachers must take an examination
to obtain a teaching certificate. The examination consists of items that relate to both
subject-matter knowledge and knowledge of pedagogical techniques. The candidate
is also required to present and discuss a proposal for a teaching unit, or to present
something similar. The examination does not assess subject-matter knowledge directly;
rather, it implies it. Subject-matter knowledge is assessed when students are admitted
into the postgraduate course.
Despite the Bachelor’s-level requirements in place for both primary and secondary
teachers, many practicing pre-primary and primary teachers hold only secondary-level
degrees because they were in the teaching system before the new requirement came into
effect in 1998. Some secondary school teachers do not have university degrees. They
generally are laboratory-technician teachers and teachers who were teaching subjects no
longer taught at the lower-secondary level, but who decided to remain in the secondary
school teaching force. According to our analysis of the Survey of Italian Households’
Income and Wealth, nearly five million Italians had secondary-level teaching degrees
in 2004 (but were not necessarily working as teachers), while 456,000 working teachers
had a Bachelor’s degree.