SCHOOL-WORK ALTERNANCE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE ITALIAN MODEL

Different studies conducted on work-related learning (WRL) or work-based learning (WBL) programs demonstrate that workplaces are learning environments. A similar approach exists in Italy: schoolwork alternance (SWA), whose key-component is the partnership between school and workplace as a way to build common projects, able to support students in the development of their competence, overcoming the crisis of learning that still, in our country, registers negative results. The Italian policy, in order to face this problem, has been trying to implement many SWA programs, since 2004. They have the character of fragmented experiences, and still many efforts must be done, before creating an organic and coherent SWA system. The aim of this qualitative study, that is part of larger research study, is to highlight the weaknesses, and the strengths of some current experiences developed in eight northern Italian schools. The study, through some interviews, involved five privileged witnesses and eight teachers who were responsible of SWA programs in their schools. Collected data were analyzed through Activity Theory lens, as a proper approach to examine relationship between two systems: schools and workplaces. The findings underline the lack of a shared object between the two systems, as cause of SWA weaknesses, and the importance of recognizing the current strengths from which moving forward a defined Italian model.