This article describes current attempts and steps to expand both services and research about gifted education and talent development programs and educational opportunities for academically talented students in Italy. The laws, procedures, and policies that have been essential to this process are described, as is the outcome, which is the…

Casualisation takes different forms in different academic contexts, from the "adjunctification" of teaching in the U.S.A. to precarious grant-funded postdoc positions common in Europe and the U.K. and the efforts to introduce other forms of temporary academic employment in New Zealand (Shore and Davidson 2014) and Australia (Barcan…

It is estimated in the world today, that more than one billion people have a disability (World Health Organization, 2011). Many people with disabilities receive no education, and, of those who do, few receive an education on an equal basis with their non-disabled peers. In 2006, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons…

This thematic collection of four papers explores a number of perspectives on companies in which multiple languages are used. The "organisational" perspective concerns the question of how the presence of or demand for multiple languages in the company is managed--how companies are guided by national and other policies in regard to the use…

Italian Sign Language (LIS) is the name of the language used by the Italian Deaf community. The acronym LIS derives from Lingua italiana dei segni ("Italian language of signs"), although nowadays Italians refers to LIS as Lingua dei segni italiana, reflecting the more appropriate phrasing "Italian sign language." Historically,…

This article is an edited version of a speech delivered at the 2009 Mediterranean Association of International Schools (MAIS) Annual Conference in Florence, Italy. In the author's past speeches--in Seville and Rome--he had urged his listeners to use their distinctive power and influence as independent, international educators to advance…

Education plays an essential role in preparing the children of immigrants for participation in the labour market and society. Giving these children opportunities to fully develop their potential is vital for future economic growth and social cohesion in OECD countries. But migrant students in most OECD countries tend to have lower education…

Over the past quarter-century David Petrie, a 56-year-old Scotsman has attended, in the capacity of plaintiff or interested observer, at least 80 court hearings at various levels of the Italian and pan-European judicial systems--all in cases of alleged job discrimination by Italian universities. In the process, Mr. Petrie has become the public…

The authors propose a methodology based on the principal strata approach to causal inference for assessing the relative effectiveness of two degree programs with respect to the employment status of their graduates. An innovative use of nonparametric bounds in the principal strata framework is shown, examining the role of some assumptions in…

As the recent OECD PISA studies have shown, social background plays a greater role for achieving a solid education in Germany than in most other developed countries; this is especially so for migrant youths. This paper deals with the question, which level education and qualification migrants in Germany achieve, and how their chances for achieving…

This profile, in outline form, of the English language situation in Italy discusses the role of English in society and in the educational system. The following topics are covered: a description of the role and status of English as the principal foreign language in the country; the place of English within the educational system at all levels from…

In the late 1800s and early 1900s coal reigned supreme in what is now southeastern Oklahoma. As was the case in the northeastern United States, Italians and other immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were brought in as a form of inexpensive labor to work the mines. Italians had different customs, a different language, a unique appearance,…

The result of trips by American special educators to Italy in 1984 and 1986, this paper reviews laws, public policy, and events in Italy's recent history leading to widespread desegregation of the disabled special schools and other institutions. The review of legislation focuses on National Law 517 (1977) with such specified strategies for pupil…

This report addresses racial segregation and human rights abuses against Roma in Italy, focusing on: "Anti-Gypsyism in Italy"; "Roma in Italy: Racial Segregation"; "Abuses by Police and Judicial Authorities" (e.g., abusive raids and evictions, abusive use of firearms, torture and physical abuse, discriminatory…

Technology is helping to reduce the education gap between developed countries and those that are still developing. The following article gives one example of an innovative teacher training project where a western university, in Rome, Italy, is selflessly showing their African counterparts, in rural Rwanda, how to become fully autonomous in…