Reflections on managing a school : a visit to the Istituto Leonardo Da Vinci Catania, Sicily, Italy

Abstract

After finishing our Bachelor of Education (Hons.) course in 1996, both of us always intended to continue our studies and especially to have the opportunity to observe the administration and the day-to-day running of a foreign school. Finally, the Post Graduate Diploma Course in Education, Administration and Management at the University of Malta made this possible. We chose to observe the Istituto Leonardo da Vinci in the district of Canalicchio, in the province of Catania in Sicily for three main reasons: 1. One of us having taught at a Lasallian school in Malta for a number of years wished to observe various aspects of school management in this Italian Lasallian school and compare them with what is happening in the local De La Salle College. 2. Observing an Italian school will lead us to understand better the Italian Education System, an aspect which we did not hear much about during this Post-Graduate Course. 3. We ended up observing a Sicilian school because we are aware that even though Malta and Sicily geographically are very close to each other, there are still large differences between their educational systems. This visit also helped us to note how the theory that we have studied during our two year course is implemented into practice. This experience was really worthwhile and we certainly believe that it helped us to become better teachers in our schools and adds depth and significance to our own present job and as future administrators.