Abstract
Most countries in the industrialized world have recently undergone or are currently undergoing processes of reform of their school systems: the state-centered model which ruled education in the 20th century seems to have been replaced by a different pattern, one that conceives of schools as autonomous, self-administered centers of learning. In Italy, however, the shift to a system focussed on effectiveness, research and accountability appears to be more difficult than elsewhere, due to the peculiar features of the Italian cultural and political tradition. This paper sketches a brief history of school reforms in Italy, from the Fascist regime to the present day: by thus doing, it aims at providing some background information for the current debate on school reform, while attempting to shed some light on the critical issues of the day.
