Education in Belgium

 The different levels of education in Flanders

Education in Belgium is regulated and for the larger part financed by one of the three communities: Flemish, French and German-speaking. All three communities have a unified school system with small differences from one community to another. The national government plays a very small role: it decides directly the age for mandatory schooling and indirectly the financing of the communities.

The schools can be divided in three groups :Schools owned by the communities (GO! Onderwijs van de Vlaamse gemeenschap; réseau de la Communauté française)

Subsidized public schools (officieel gesubsidieerd onderwijs; réseau officiel subventionné), organized by provinces and municipalities

Subsidized free schools (vrij gesubsidieerd onderwijs; réseau libre subventionné), mainly organized by an organization affiliated to the Catholic church

The latter is the largest group, both in number of schools and in number of pupils.

Education in Belgium is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 18.

History• In the past there were conflicts between state schools and catholic schools, and disputes

whether the latter should be funded by the government. The 1958 School Pact was an agreement of the three large political parties to end these conflicts.

• The 1981 state reform transferred some matters from the federal Belgian level to the communities. A few years later, in 1988, the majority of educational matters was transferred. Nowadays, very few general matters are regulated on a national level. The current ministries for education are the Flemish Government, the Government of the French Community and the Government of the German-speaking Community for each community respectively. Brussels, being bilingual French-Dutch, has both schools provided by the Flemish and French-speaking community. Municipalities with language facilities often have schools of two communities (Dutch-French or German-French) as well.

                                                                              Stages of educationThe different stages of education are the same in all communities:• • Basic education (Dutch: basisonderwijs; French: enseignement fondamental),

consisting of • o Preschool education (kleuteronderwijs; enseignement maternel): -6 years• o Primary school (lager onderwijs; enseignement primaire): 6–12 years

• Secondary education (secundair onderwijs; enseignement secondaire): 12–18 years

Higher education (hoger onderwijs; enseignement supérieur) • o University (universiteit; université)• o Polytechnic/Vocational university (hogeschool; haute école)

Education in Italy

    Education in Italy is compulsory from 6 to 16 years of age, and is divided into five stages:

kindergarten (scuola dell'infanzia), primary school (scuola primaria), lower secondary school (scuola secondaria di primo grado), upper secondary school (scuola secondaria di secondo grado) and university (università). Italy has both public and private education systems.

Primary education Scuola primaria (primary school), also known as scuola elementare, is commonly preceded by

three years of non-compulsory nursery school (or kindergarten). Scuola elementare lasts five years. Until middle school, the educational curriculum is the same for all pupils: although one can attend a private or state-funded school, the subjects studied are the same (with the exception of special schools for the blind or the hearing-impaired). The students are given a basic education in Italian, English, mathematics, natural sciences, history, geography, social studies, physical education and visual and musical arts.

Until 2004, pupils had to pass an exam to access Scuola secondaria di primo grado (Lower secondary school), comprising the composition of a short essay in Italian, a written math test, and an oral test on the other subjects. The exam has been discontinued and pupils can now enter Scuola secondaria di Primo Grado directly.

Scuola secondaria di primo grado The Scuola secondaria di primo grado lasts three years (roughly from age 11 to 13), and

provides further education on the subjects studied at the scuola primaria, with the addition of Technology and a language other than English (typically French, Spanish or German). The curriculum is the same for all schools. At the end of the third year students sit an exam which enables them to continue their education.

Scuola secondaria di secondo grado The Scuola secondaria di secondo grado lasts five years (even though some istituti

Professionali might offer a diploma after only three years). Every type involves an exam at the end of the final year, called Esame di Maturità, required to gain a diploma and have access to further education.

The secondary school situation varies, since there are several types of schools differentiated by subjects and activities. The main division is between the Liceo, the Istituto Tecnico and the Istituto Professionale. Any kind of secondary school that lasts 5 years grants access to the final exam, called Esame di Stato conclusivo del corso di studio di Istruzione Secondaria Superiore or Esame di Maturità. This exam takes place every year between June and July and grants access to University.

The "Liceo”today, refers to a class of secondary schools oriented towards the study of the arts and sciences. All of the Licei have many subjects in common, such as Italian Literature, or Mathematics, while other subjects are peculiar to a particular type of Liceo (i.e. Ancient Greek in the Liceo Classico, pedagogy in the Liceo delle Scienze Umane or scenography in the Liceo Artistico).

Age

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      REFORMS ON THE WAY

The introduction of Latin as a compulsory subject in all Licei(except for the arts and the music licei)

English as a compulsory subject for 5 years in all liceiMore teaching hours for mathematics, physics and sciences

The introduction of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) in the fifth grade which foresees the teaching of a subject through a foreign language

The exploitation of economic and legal studies