Pluriclassi, scuole rurali, scuole a ciclo unico dall’Unità d’Italia al 1948

Abstract

This article traces the history of elementary schooling from the nineteenth century to 1948, focusing on «small schools», a seemingly marginal and peripheral element of public education. Such schools have been defined over the decades as: «elementary schools comprised of three sections», «rural schools», «unclassified schools», «merged schools entrusted to a single teacher», «singular multi-class schools». From a historiographical perspective this type of school will be considered beyond the stereotypes that have characterised the reconstruction of educational history in Italy. One such stereotype, which recent archival and documentary research has started to put into question, is the assumption that compulsory schooling coincided with the birth of Italy as a nation-state. The three historical periods presented, devoted to the multi-classroom school in liberal Italy, during fascism, and in the early years of the republic respectively, offer unexpected reflections on choices presently made regarding primary school by those on the educational shop floor, political decision-makers and communities