Figure 1.--We notice many primary school boys wearing black or perhaps navy blue smockis in the 1950s. Often they wore them with wide white collars, many mothers added floppy bows--we believe red bows. This convention is so wide spread that we think nation-wide government regulations were involved, but we do not have details on the regulations at this time. Here we see Ozzano Monferrato School which was located near Turin during the 1954-55 school year.

Societal Change

Following World War II, te light from the land intensified. This was all part of the The Italian Economic Miracle that was was transforming Italy. There was a move into the towns and cities in search of high paying industrial jobs. The growth of industry and business fundamentally changed the outlook of a traditional ppopulation. An educator expalins tyhat the impact has been "... a radical change in the outlook of the provincial middle classes, formerly conent to follow quiet, liberal professions, The change took place within each individual, in his very attitude towards an existance which was becoming more active and laborios. The Ialian South, an agriculural and conservative stonghold, after the war gradually adopted new ways of living." 【Volpicelli, p. 75.】 A related issue was the administartivev autonomy of Sicily and Sardinia, islands which cuturally mirrored conditions in suthern Italy. All of this had ramifcationd for local schools.

School Trends

And it was making possible the creation of a modern eduation system. Italy enteres World War II with a school system that included basic primary education for vall children but a scondry and uiversity system that excluded wiorking-class students. It was during the 1950s that Italy began transforming that syste into a mass education system. The existing system included compulsory courses in Latin and even Greek. One educator writes that this "in no way favored either the spiritual development orthe material of the general population; paradoxically, school remained an institution for the selected few at a time when it was becoming an institution open to all." 【Volpicelli, p. 75.】 Chidren were separated after prmary school. Half went to intermediate schools. The other hlf went to voctional guidance chools requiring a choice of job futures.

School Uniforms

We notice many primary school boys wearing dark (black or perhaps navy blue) smocks in the 1950s. They were very common and we have a 1950s school smock page. Italy still had many single gender schools. Most boys wore them with wide white collars, normally the Peter Pan rounded style. Many mothers added floppy bows--we believe red bows. This varied, hiowever, not all boys had the boes. This convention is so wide spread that we think nation-wide government regulations were involved, but we do not have details on the regulations at this time. Unless it was required we do not think that there would have been such notable conformity. But at many schools not all boys wore the smocks. and at others none of th boys re wearing smocks. Most boys in the 50s are wearing short pants with their school smocks. Here I think this was just the fashion rather than being required by the school, but there may have been some variation from school to school. Here we see Ozzano Monferrato School which was located near Turin during the 1954-55 school year. One aspect we are unsure of is if there were differences between state schools and Catholic schools. We do not know, for examplw, what kind of school the Ozzano Monferrato School was other than a primary school. We also see many noys wearing school smocks in our 1950s individual Italian school page.

Sources

Volpicelli, Luigi. "The Italian school system from 1950 to 1960," The Phi Delta Kappan Vol. 43, No. 2, Reform in Post-Primary Education of West Europe (November, 1961), pp. 75-80.

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Created: 6:53 AM 10/14/2004
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