La formazione dei maestri e dei docenti di ginnasio-liceo nella legislazione asburgica e l’applicazione nei territori italiani tra XVIII e XIX secolo

The lecture deals with the history of teacher training from Maria Theresa’s reign to the Unity of Italy, examining the Austrian laws and their enforcement in the Italian dominions – Lombardy in particular. It highlights how during the Restoration elementary teacher pedagogical training was actually improved, since the candidate teachers had to study the Methodenbuch by Peitl-Cherubini, a very good educational text, and had to pass exams which were much deeper and stricter compared with Joseph II time, when the Normalhauptschule of Milan was established. The teachers had to take on a year of teaching practice, too. Less positive is the judgment on Gymnasium/Ginnasio teacher training. At least private teachers were compelled to attend the university course of Pedagogy, opened in 1806 in Vienna, and introduced in Pavia and Padua with the Restoration. However, Thun-Hohenstein’ reform (1848-1850) introduced the Fachlehrer, who had to have a degree in the subject he wanted to teach, but no pedagogical preparation. Hence a gap took place between elementary school teacher and Gymnasium teacher training: a pedagogical education was reckoned to be relevant just for the first. In the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, however, the purpose of a pedagogical training also for Gymnasium teachers was purposed in vain in 1851.