Secondary schools are focusing on AI, reading and Western identity

To rediscover our identity, which has its roots in the West, in order to understand where we come from, and to blend it with the revolution in STEM subjects (led by AI), in order to understand where we are heading. This is the cultural, methodological and, to some extent, philosophical premise from which Minister Giuseppe Valditara sets out in outlining the new National Guidelines for upper secondary schools. These guidelines are now back in a revised and amended version following the public consultation held in recent months and are set to be assessed by the CSPI, the Ministry of Education’s technical advisory body.

Whilst it is true that there is no shortage of confirmation regarding the first draft drawn up by a committee of experts led by the educationalist Loredana Perla – starting with thethe abandonment of ‘geohistory’ – introduced in 2010 – thereby restoring autonomy and equal status to both history and geography, or the six books to be read during the first two years – the release of the text, updated following consultations – both online and in person – with families and teachers, is particularly striking for its new features. In some cases, these resemble a U-turn, such as *The Betrothed*, which remains in the second year rather than being moved to the fourth, and *The Divine Comedy*, which remains across the final three years rather than being concentrated in the third and fourth.

In the general introduction, the national guidelines – which will form the basis of the new sixth-form curricula from the 2027/28 academic year onwards (whilst those for nursery schools and the first years of primary and lower secondary schools will be introduced in September 2026), emphasise a number of changes compared with the recent past. To begin with, the upper secondary school must be a school for adolescents in the full sense of the term and must also foster interpersonal skills and empathy.

After addressing the focus on academic merit, the requirement for teachers ‘to study’ (and not merely to keep up to date), and effective collaboration with families, the text then turns to the individual subjects.

What immediately stands out is the emphasis on scientific subjects. First and foremost, mathematics, which should not merely be a method of calculation, but also a litmus test of the reality around us. It must increasingly be linked to other disciplines, to real-life situations (as was partly the case with this year’s second exam papers for the science stream, ed.) and, in the fifth year, to artificial intelligence, encouraging a critical and responsible approach to the use of AI. And, again from the minister’s perspective, a stronger link with the real world must also extend to physics and the natural sciences. In the name of what she calls a ‘STEM revolution’, these subjects are also called upon to link up with disciplines such as history, philosophy and art ‘from a perspective that values creativity and imagination, not just calculations and formulas’.