The aim of this paper is to give an account of the evolution of the Italian higher education system together with the main trends observed in recent decades in many other higher education systems. The main purpose is to offer an explanation of the difficulties the majority of Italian universities have met in acquiring and developing a substantial degree of autonomy and consequently in establishing a meaningful relationship with their social contexts. A historical analysis of the evolution of the Italian higher education system allows us to follow the sequence of government higher education policies within the framework of the state’s public policies. The paper is organized into three parts. The first illustrates policy-making in an historical perspective in order to outline the context, politics, and changing dynamics of the Italian university system, identifying three distinct phases: inertia, modernizing reformism, and hyper-reformism. The second part focuses on the last phase of rapid reform (hyper-reformism), showing its main features and its effects both on the system and institutions. The third part provides an interpretative analysis of the previous parts and highlights the contradictions and their effects.
The steady boundaries of Italian universities: resistances and contradictions in a centralized system of higher education
MOSCATI, ROBERTO;VAIRA, MASSIMILIANO
2014-01-01
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the evolution of the Italian higher education system together with the main trends observed in recent decades in many other higher education systems. The main purpose is to offer an explanation of the difficulties the majority of Italian universities have met in acquiring and developing a substantial degree of autonomy and consequently in establishing a meaningful relationship with their social contexts. A historical analysis of the evolution of the Italian higher education system allows us to follow the sequence of government higher education policies within the framework of the state’s public policies. The paper is organized into three parts. The first illustrates policy-making in an historical perspective in order to outline the context, politics, and changing dynamics of the Italian university system, identifying three distinct phases: inertia, modernizing reformism, and hyper-reformism. The second part focuses on the last phase of rapid reform (hyper-reformism), showing its main features and its effects both on the system and institutions. The third part provides an interpretative analysis of the previous parts and highlights the contradictions and their effects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
