Learning to Teach in Italy: Reviewing Policy and Research Trends.

Italy, compared to other countries, has only relatively recently incorporated higher education elements into its preparation of primary and pre-primary teachers. In secondary teacher preparation, a consistent trend of professionalization was not evident until 2001–09. In an unstable policy context, the Buona Scuola (Good School) reform of 2015 introduced much-needed change, particularly in the areas of secondary and continuous professional development (CPD). An incipient evidence-based research orientation and the introduction of professional assessment were the two major driving forces behind this system overhaul. Research to date on this topic has been mainly descriptive or based on teachers’ opinions, while the investigation of teacher effectiveness through classroom observation has been relatively weak. In this chapter, research reviews and historical scholarship, focusing in particular on a discussion of three major studies of teacher effectiveness, are discussed. The predominant organization equipped to conduct studies on teachers and their effectiveness is The National Institute for School Evaluation (INVALSI), a major actor in a growing accountability culture. This research review shows that national policies influence the design and impact of teacher preparation, the balance between the academic and more practice-based components of their curriculum, as well as the availability of CPD provision. The relevance of institutional arrangements and social groups is also demonstrated.