STEM education in the Italian landscape

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General forEducation, Youth, Culture and SportDirectorateB—Youth, Education and Erasmus+UnitB.2—Schools and Multilingualism Contact:Maria Podlasek-Ziegler E-mail:EAC-UNITE-B2@ec.europa.eu European CommissionB-1049 Brussels STEMeducation landscape in Author:Dr. Stefania Capogna, Francesca Andreoli, Elisa Pistone, incollaboration with thestudy team Manuscript completed in January 2025 This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of theauthors, and the European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union,2026 © European Union,2026 The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by Commission Decision2011/833/EU of 12December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJL330, 14.12.2011, p.39).Unless otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution4.0 International (CCBY4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need PrintISBN978-92-68-38358-2 doi:10.2766/1137991NC-01-26-080-EN-CPDFISBN978-92-68-38357-5 doi:10.2766/1139285NC-01-26-080-EN-N Contents 1.Backgroundto the country’s education system and STEMperformance.............................................................................................8 1.1.Structure of the national school education system.................................81.2.Governance of STEM education in Italy..............................................101.3.Introduction of the country’s performance in STEM education in 2.Overview of the main policy and structural challenges and factorsrelated to STEM education in schools.................................................16 2.1.Policy framework for STEM education in Italy......................................16 2.2.Overview of the main structural challenges and factors related to STEMeducation in schools............................................................................19 2.2.1.Continuity and coherence across educational cycles..............................192.2.2.Governance, infrastructure, and strategic vision.....................................202.2.3.Teacher recruitment and lifelong learning...............................................212.2.4.Curriculum design and methodological challenges.................................212.2.5.Equity and inclusion in STEM education.................................................22 3.Overview of the identifiedinstruments promoting STEM education 23 3.1.Examples of best practices to support STEM education......................25 4.Recommendations for potential EU interventions..............................33 5.Methodological annex...........................................................................34 5.1.Bibliography.........................................................................................34 5.2.Listof interviewees..............................................................................36 Thisdocument presents results of country-specific research on science,technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and its support inItaly. It was prepared in the context of a wider studyon‘Promoting STEM 1.Background to the country’s education system 1.1.Structure of the national school education system In Italy, the education system below the tertiary level isdivided into three mainstages: early childhood education and care (ECEC), primary education, and Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Italy, corresponding to ISCED level0, serves children from birth to six years old and is divided into two parts. Thefirst, non-compulsory nursery schools, cater to children from birth until the age ofthree. The second part provides pre-primary education for children aged three tosix. Although not compulsory, the pre-primary education is widely attended and Primary education (ISCED level 1) in Italy begins at the age of six and lasts forfive years. This stage is compulsory and publicly funded, aiming to developfundamental skills acrossa range of subjects, including STEM subjects such asMathematics, Sciences and Technology. Assessment in primary education isprimarily formative, focusing on continuous teacher evaluations that monitor Secondary education is divided into lower secondary (ISCED level 2) and uppersecondary education (ISCED level 3). Lower secondary education spans threeyears for students aged11 to 14. This stage is compulsory and builds onfoundational skills acquired in primary school, with STEM subjects includingMathematics, Sciences and Technology. Assessment at this level includes Upper secondary education lasts for five years and is open to students aged14and above. Italian students choose from different types of upper secondaryschools, includingLiceo(academic high sch