SCHOOL AND SOCIETY IN ITALY DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD REPUBLICS (1992–2021)

Among scholars and experts in the history of education and school history, it is well known that the evolution of education in Italy, as elsewhere, presents some latent, long-lasting traits that span decades and have sometimes survived revolutions and drastic changes in the structure of institutions. Those who have somehow crossed paths with educational and school historiography—because they were forced to do so, such as students, or because they were simply passionate about it—are ofen aware of this reality as well. One of the themes that seems to have characterized the debate about Italian schools in the last forty years (starting from the 1980s) and, in particular, in the years to which this paper refers, is the role of schools with respect to other educational institutions and, more generally, with respect to society and the territory. This article will therefore propose a summary of the evolution of Italian schools from the second to the third republic with particular attention to this topic.