Antonio Schizzerotto was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus for the high scientific profile and his career at the University of Trento: the just finale of an extremely prestigious scientific and university career.
The awarding ceremony was held at the Department of Sociology and Social research, with the title awarding by the Deputy Rector, Professor Aronne Armanini, with the participation of Giuseppe Sciortino, Director of the Department of Sociology and Social research and Renato Mazzolini, the oldest professor of the Department.
Then Schizzerotto held his lectio magistralis on “Evaluation the impact of the reform of the Italian University system of 2011”. He presented his evaluation of the impact of the reform, based on the comparison between the actual enrolment rates between 1990 and 2012 and a hypothesis of the rates if the reform had not been implemented.
The hypothesis was based on a statistic model (multivariate regression) which takes into account the effects on the demand of advanced education, of the economic crisis, the employment results in connection with the university qualifications, and the widespread perception of the usefulness of an investment in university training and education.
Schizzerotto explained that up to the end of the Nineties the Italian university system had not been able to meet the increasing demand of advanced education, which had begun 30 years earlier, and to face the increasing heterogeneity of cultural and social background of enrolling students. In other words, it was a system based on a mass-university structure, but it was still functioning as an élite structure. The reform led to a significant increase in the collective demand of university education. The positive effect lasted short and in 2007 it was basically zero. There are good reasons to believe that in these last few years the structure resulting from the reform of 2011 and the way in which it was implementing is currently having a negative effect on the demand of university education.
The reform worked as a springboard, it had an immediate and consistent effect. This effect, however, lasted only 6 years. Not only was the positive effect of the reform reduced to zero by 2009, but it also had a negative impact, causing a reduction of the spontaneous demand of education, which would have been there without the reform.
Secondly, the reform made the university more attractive not only for the high-school students - the main target group of the university offer - but above all for students who had not enrolled soon after the high-school but had not found a job yet. At the beginning of 2001 these students were very many, but their number continued to diminish throughout time. This is the reason why the positive effect of the first years of the reform finished off fast.
The analysis highlighted the fact that the inequalities in terms of university access and attendance due to the social background of students have not been solved, even if that was one of the objectives of the reform. The disparity among young people of different social backgrounds has substantially remained the same. Between 2001 and 2007 more or less everyone attends the university, but the different social backgrounds continue to play a role on the rate of course shifting and risk of drop-out (within the first three years after enrolment).
But why have the planned objectives not been achieved? According Schizzerotto’s research there have been several potential obstacles: the little controlled growth of the number and type of undergraduate degree courses and master’s courses, the difficulty for students and families in trying to make the right choice within the excessive number of available courses and the fragmentation of the taught subjects. Finally, it is necessary to remember the ambiguous nature - which has never been clear - of the undergraduate courses: are they instrumental to access the labour market or are they preparatory courses for master’s degrees? The lack of clarity regarding the undergraduate courses and other technical factors have had a negative impact: for example in many cases the fact that tutoring systems have not been activated, nor have laboratory practical lessons, the short time available between the end of the teaching activities and the exams.
More information on the motivation for the awarding of the title of Professor Emeritus to Antonio Schizzerotto is available in the attached press release (in Italian).