The meaning behind studying and the value of teaching in higher secondary school: A new commitment against early school-leaving

The general aspects of the survey carried out in secondary schools were presented at the CiCe Conference 2010 in Barcelona, the Symposium The dilemma of competences in secondary schools. Comparative research in Five European countries: Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Portugal and, Romania. The contribution from Italy was published under the title A glimpse of secondary school. Competences and performance from a sample of teachers and students in Italy (Chistolini, 2010, p 247-256). In 2011, a further analysis of the data collected allows for scrutinising the relationship between the students’ feelings about studying and the value teachers attribute to teaching. According to the theoretical outlook of symbolic interaction, improvements in schools arise when a positive communication of teaching-learning situations is set in motion. Students know what work is to be done and teachers present the programme to be carried out. For a joint work effort, students and teachers have to communicate with each other and establish points of contact. The survey revealed the judgement of the students, who find teachers prepared, but incapable of interesting them in studies and culture; teachers do not update their teaching methods and are more concerned with the programmes than caring about human relations and the experiences of life of the class. On the other hand, teachers evaluate themselves positively and find that they know how to do their work well, know how to give all of the necessary explanations and valorise the specificities of each student. The comparative analysis of the data opens the debate about the perceptions of both students and teachers and lends itself to the promotion of new moments of education, during which increased communication between students and teachers is foreseen.