Conference Program

The issue of enhancing the teaching profession, through the introduction of an evaluation and career system, has been at the centre of academic and political debate for several years without, to date, any significant achievements having been made. In the meantime, however, the social recognition of the role of teachers has undergone a major downsizing. If we add to this the progressive ageing of the teaching body (among the oldest internationally), a strong process of feminisation of the profession and the low attractiveness of teaching – according to the required course of study – for the brightest new graduates, a critical picture emerges for the future of the education system in our country. With the study presented in this Thesis intends to develop a novel approach that, starting from the analysis of the sector's literature and thanks to the contribution of renowned experts, can give voice to those directly concerned (questioned through the administration of an online questionnaire) in order to find out the point of view of Italian teachers on the social recognition of the category, professional development, the evaluation of their work and career, thus providing important elements for evaluation and decision-making to policy makers in order to a change of the legal status of teaching staff, for which there is an increasing sense of urgency and need. A change that could start a virtuous path to restore prestige to the profession and also improve school organisation and teaching-learning processes.