Becoming a primary school teacher in Post-Unification Italy. At the origin of the process of feminization of a profession

Abstract

The paper proposes a historical-educational reconstruction of the figure of the female primary school teacher in the aftermath of the Unification of Italy, referring to the foundational aspects of the Italian school, to the educational needs of the Italian population and to the female status of the nineteenth century. The need to counter the worsening of illiteracy implied the need to recruit a part of the population in order to teach basic skills, and, therefore to the establishment of a preparatory course of studies for male and female teachers, thus the Normal School was born. Women, naturalized in the role of educator mother, became the protagonists of the development of children, soon occupying the occupational space opened by the institution of the public school. However, the poor working conditions, the cultural misogyny of much of Italy and the caducity of school buildings made this profession a vocation often dedicated to sacrifice.