Comparison of Educational Programs in Italy and England - Essay Example

A Comparative Study of the Policy, Provision and Practice in Italy and England The object of this essay is to examine the policies, practices and provisions of early years education and care in Italy and England. Finally a comparison and analysis is made of the content, success and implementation of the early education and care systems in both these countries. Italy in many ways has been a pioneer in innovative and revolutionary concepts in early education. In Italy the responsibility of well-being and care for children between ages 0-3 rests with The Ministry of Health after which it shifts to The Ministry of Education. The Italian early education and care is characterized be a three prong strategy (state,communal,private). Enactment of a law that entitled children between ages 3-6 to free education and another law in 1971 establishing infant/toddler centers that also receive parental financial contributions have land marked an early care program that has been strongly backed and approved by parents especially mothers.(Rebecca.S.New) Italy has been consistent in its efforts to combine concepts of social service with education thus helping young families enormously. 95% of children between ages 3-6 attend some kind of school-municipal,national or private.New legislation in 1998 requires for pre school teachers to hold a university level degree.Vast majority of cities with communal pre-schools also conduct workshops for teachers .In 1969,The Ministry introduced "Guidelines for Educational Activity" which advocated strong collaboration with parents, religious education and play. (OECD Country note,May2001) Child care and education services for children aged 0-6 years (OECD Country note,May2001) As for children above age 6, education in Italy is state-controlled and all schools, both public and private, are subject to comply with the curricula and teaching methods laid down by the Ministry of Public Education .Education is compulsory and free of charge for all children between the ages of 6 and 14 and is segmented into 5 classes at elementary level and 3 classes at lower secondary level (middle school).(The Italian Education System, January 2,2001). The curriculum at the elementary level is centered on providing a solid foundation in reading, writing, and mathematics. Two significant philosophies in early education founded in Italy that have captured the world's attention setting the pace for educational standards and influencing alternative ,educational concepts both inside Italy and around the world are: The Montessori Concept The Reggio Emilia approach Dr Maria Montessori,the first woman in Italy to become a physician, founded the Montessori system of education in 1907 in Rome. Her major discovery was that children teach themselves.She believed in a prepared classroom designed to make children choose from a number of developmentally appropriate activities leading to self-discovery in learning. ( Website of the Montessori Foundation and the International Montessori Council ).The Reggio Emilia was founded in the town of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy by professor Loris Malaguzzi. (Lella Gandini,1993) Children explore themes and learn through short and long projects inspired spontaneously by children's curiosity , social concerns of parents ,or a random chance event..With no established curriculum,the child learns in her own sense of time and personal rhythm. Other innovative pre-school education and care programs in Pastoia and Milan have focused on the integral relationship between the need of the children and the community as a whole. Some of their ground-breaking policies include enrichment programs for parents and grand parents and a high level of interaction between diverse families of young children with one another and with the professionals. The general goal seems to be to foster independence,self-motivation and love for learning in the first years of a child's life through non-traditional methods before introducing concepts of standardized expectations in learning through a more rigid curriculum during elementary schooling..Thus ,Italians have successfully experimented with alternative and non-traditional paths in Early Education and care with strong backing from parents and the government.The government has taken note worthy measures to maintain the highest standards in education while at the same time fostering creativity in implementation to the local state authorities , parent supported communal organizations and municipalities. It is quite commendable that the families and State Education officials have presented a unified front in these efforts. In 1997, England undertook unprecedented efforts to increase investment in young children and expand and reform early years education.(The EFA 2000 Assessment:Country Reports).Reports in 2002 indicated that care for children from birth to 3 years of age was mostly private with 20% of 2 year olds attending some type of play group run by private,church or volunteer organizations. Among 3-4 year olds,90% participate in early education programs.By age 4,all children are guaranteed an early education place,though compulsory education begins only at age 5.The government education department was not happy to find that only 20% of the care personnel had university degrees or tertiary qualifications.Majority of child care workers and classroom assistants did not have formal training .Poor conditions of work,long hours with little access to training or support and less than average wage did nothing to enhance the quality of care children deserved.This prompted the government to increase the national minimum wage.On the other hand ,they found that teachers were generally better paid and held a 4 year university degree or training with some having specialized in early education.Careful recruitment and training,improvement in salary and working conditions and review of the level of recruitment of teaching and care staff were some of the steps the government took in the late 1990s to build an acceptable early care and education infrastructure. In 2002,a government research indicated that children were failing to realize their full potential and exhibiting a glaring weakness in Math.So it initiated intensive teacher training in Math and enforced 45 minutes of everyday Math study for 5 -7 year olds and 60 minutes for 8-11 year olds.(EFA2000).It also promoted a reduction in infant class size to increase individual attention. Beacon schools,elected by the government as the best performing schools in the country receive extra funding in exchange for which the beacons partner with other schools to share training ,policies and pass on their expertise.In 1999,the The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority introduced a standard framework for early years curriculum hoping to increase the standards of early education.It outlined specific number of learning goals to be achieved by young children at every year of their study.Every government funded pre-school is inspected periodically by Office of Standards in Education.For example,4 year olds are assessed on whether they are learning to count up to 20,write their own names and recognize the shape and sound of letters.Early childhood specialists in England are deeply concerned that the rigid government intervention would lead to formal,strict methods of teaching with overt importance on targets placing too much stress on young minds.The traditional English pre schools of yester-years with little government involvement,were all about child centered individualism,free play and developmentalism with no standard curriculum.(Young-Ihm Kwon,Fall 2002).They believed in learning through exploration and self-initiated activities following the principles of Rouseau,Froebel,Owen,McMillan and Isaacs The government's emphasis on specific academic expectations from age 4 is in sharp contrast to England's traditional pre-school policies which were more inspired by ideals of free thinking and independence. The lack of cohesive efforts between the public, the government and educators due to vast disparity in opinions pertaining to education policies have left many academicians dis-satisfied.The question remains, if the English government has sacrificed innovation and independent thinking in an attempt to raise the bar on under-performing schools.On the other hand , many would say that a standardized curriculum for ages 4 and above ensures a decent ,minimum level of quality in education which can be built on. There are striking similarities in the thought processes of Italian child educators and the early traditionalists from England ,especially with respect to self-initiated activities, the teacher's role as a guide and opposition to standardized curriculum. However I find that the Italians were more precise and methodical in the implementation of their ideals and goals. Even though some of the Italian principles might seem avant-garde ,their policies and practices are so structured and disciplined that even the most skeptical among us can decipher a sense of direction in their vision. This is exactly where the English traditionalists ,in my opinion failed as they lacked precision in the application of their lofty visions.They were also wanting in imagination,creativity and drive in the methods chosen to implement their visions. For example Sylva Roy and Mcintyre through research in 1980 found that excessive free-play in traditional English schools did not lead to any challenging activities.Meadows and Cashdan(1988) investigated learning through free play and found that play did not maximize cognitive development as children did not persist at tasks. In England ,the early education system failed miserably resulting in the government's attempts at standardization and regulation to increase the quality of early care.This is a great example of how some very similar ideals in education have met with varying degrees of success in different countries. Works Cited Edwards,Carolyn Pope,"The three Approaches frpm Europe:Waldrof,Montessori &Reggio Emilia",Spring 2002,Volume 4,number 1,Early Childhood Research and Practice,November 2005,< http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/edwards.html> EFA 2000 Assessment:Country Reports,United Kingdom,< http://www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/united_kingdom/rapport_1.html> Gandini,Lella,"Fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia", 1993,Approach to Early Childhood Education,November 2005, http://www.overfieldearlychildhoodprogram.com/phlsphy/OVREGGIO.HTM. Italian Education System, January 2001 , November 2005, http://www.italyontheweb.org. Kwon,Young-Ihm,Fall2002,Volume 4,number 2,"Changing Curriculum for Early Childhood Education in England", Early Childhood Research and Practice,November 2005,< http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n2/kwon.html> Mallory,Bruce L. and Rebecca.S.New,1994,"Diversity and Developmentally Practices",Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services,November 2005,< http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/oberhuemer.html> Meadows, Sara, & Cashdan, Asher,1988,Helping children learn, London, David Fulton,Montessori, Maria. ,1972,. Dr. Montessori's own handbook: A short guide to her ideas and materials,New York,Schocken Books. New,Rebecca s.,"Reggio Emilia:Some lessons for US Educators", Edo-ps-93-3,Clearing House on Early Education and Parenting,November 2005,< http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1993/new93.html> Oberhuemer,Pamela,"Conceptualizingthe professional role in early childhood centers:Emerging Profiles in four European Countries",Early Childhood research and Practice,Fall2000,Volume2,number2,November 2005,< http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/oberhuemer.html> OECD Country Note,"Early Childhood Education & Care Policy in Italy",May 2001,November,< http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/17/33915831.pdf>. Sylva, Kathy; Roy, Carloyn; & McIntyre, Grant,1980, Child watching at playgroup and nursery school, London,Grant McIntyre. Website of the Montessori Foundation and the International Montessori Council,November 2005,< http://www.montessori.org/defaultarticle=&defaultnode=&layout=29&pagefunction=Load%20Layout&formfields[newnode]=2> Read More