ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore the concept of continuità educativa (educational continuity) as a way to understand the relationship between different parts of the education system in Italy. The aim of educational continuity is to facilitate children’s transitions across the system: from nido (for children under 3 years) to scuola dell’infanzia (for children from 3 to 6 years), from scuola dell’infanzia to scuola primaria (for children from 6 to 11 years) and from scuola primaria to scuola secondaria di primo grado (for children from 11 to 14 years). As this schema suggests, the structure of early childhood education is split. Not only are nido and scuola dell’infanzia separate institutions, but they are the responsibility, at national level, of different government ministries: the Ministry of Labour together with the Department of Family Affairs for services for children under 3 years, the Ministry of Education for services for children from 3 years. Services for children under 3 years are mainly provided by municipalities (local authorities), under regulations defined by regional governments. Services for children over 3 years, the scuola dell’infanzia, can be provided by the state, municipalities or private (mainly Catholic) organisations, but since 1968 have been recognised as part of the national education system and national government has ensured the availability of these services through the expansion of state-run schools (Balduzzi, 2011). Since the way the ECE system is structured and managed has affected certain aspects of the debate on continuità educativa, this concept will be explored by analysing both the relationship between these two segments of the ECE system and the relationship between ECE and compulsory school education, CSE.
