The following research work dwells upon the etymologies and meanings of the terms “education”
and “training” as stated both in different Italian language dictionaries and in specialized wordbooks,
starting from the 1970s to date. Next comes a critical analysis of several authors and their points of
view about the Science of Education, to emphasize how the use of these two words is often unclear
and confused. The present research aims to underline not only the linguistic difference but also and
above all the dissimilarity in meaning between the concepts of education and training, besides the
importance of this distinction in educational institutes. The last part of the work, in fact, deals with
the legal reforms of the Italian scholastic system from the 1970s up to the Gelmini Reform, in order
to stress which of the two ideas, the educational or the training one, comes out in a sharper way