Evaluating a study abroad experience in the Italian school Valutare un’esperienza di studio all’estero nella scuola italiana

Abstract

Evaluate a seventeen year old student, in Italian school, when he returns from an abroad study experience, is not easy. Although international studies assert that intercultural learning can be measured and evaluated, the Italian educational system shows rather reluctant to do so. This is due both to a cultural rigidity that prefers knowledge’s than competencies, and to a weakness of the Italian educational system as only recently, by European-input, it is being equipped with a starting national system for validating non-formal and informal learning. The unsuccessful assessment of intercultural learning indicates the connection failure of the Italian school with the world of work.