“Il libro di lettura non sia un centone di trite nozioni”: i manuali di lettura nei programmi ministeriali per la scuola elementare (1860–1905)

Abstract

The paper examines the guidelines dedicated to Italian teaching and, above all, to the ideal thematic, language and stylistic features of school reading books in the programmes for primary school and in the related instructions for teachers issued by the Ministry of Education from 1860 to 1905: a decisive period for the arrangement of the Italian school system, the literacy processes and the spread of the national language. It can be seen how these official documents significantly shaped the writing of school books. The paper also explores the complex relationship between the institutional attempts to regulate textbook production, as evidenced by relevant ministerial documentation parallel to the programmes, and the rich publishing activity in this field. To complete the overview of the dialectic between school-educational publishing and the regulatory will of the Ministry and of the boards connected to it, responsible for the evaluation of textbooks, the witnesses of two prominent school female authors of the 2nd half of the 19th century are commented on: Ida Baccini and Felicita Morandi.

Keywords

• elementary school programmes
• italian teaching
• ministry of education
• reading books
• school female writers