Citizenship Education in Italy: Needs and Gaps in a Changing Learning Environment

The Italian case study is a paramount for its educational system for the primary and secondary schools, because throughout several reforms, applied over the decades, it has (at least formally and judicially) tried to include and implement citizenship education’s programs and platforms into the student’s education since primary and secondary schools, additionally following the UNESCO and EU Commission guidelines. However, citizenship education may not have received sufficient emphasis in the Italian curriculum historically, leading to a potential gap in fostering civic engagement and awareness among students. Moreover, no clear guidelines have been provided so far to assess methodologically digital literacy skills and student’s ability to critically evaluate online information. Despite those programs, there is not much vocal domestic support for anti-disinformation initiatives in Italy. The paper will firstly present the state of art of the Italian case study regarding citizenship education in the last decade; secondly it will discuss the potential gaps in the Italian educational system (in term of resources and geographic fractures); thirdly, it will provide some policy recommendations to the Italian Ministries and government to further address the educational needs and gaps.