Report on a visit to Scuola Media Leonardo Murialdo, Rivoli, Torino

Abstract

As part of the Diploma in Education Administration and Management course run by the University of Malta, a number of participants went on a fifteen-day attachment visit to various Primary, Secondary and Post-Secondary Schools in England and other European Countries. The purpose of this visit was to obtain hands-on experience of administration and familiarise with staff of a foreign school. Through the generous help of Don Valerio Bocci SDB we made arrangements to visit Scuola Media Leonardo Murialdo in Rivoli, province of Torino where we were able to spend fifteen days, familiarising ourselves with administrative, teaching and minor staff practices. We were also able to observe the school organisation, the curriculum, teaching methods and all other contingencies made available by the school administration. In this report we will attempt to give as faithful an account as possible of our experience acquired through observation, interviews and conversations with the Religious Community attached to the college complex, the school administration, senior management, staff and students. We will then make some observations about what we consider most relevant, what struck us and what we believe could prove relevant to the educational situation in Malta. We feel in duty bound to thank those persons who have made our visit possible and especially to make it the success it has proved to be, namely: All the staff at the Scuola Media Leonardo Murialdo who were always ready to help us in all our requirements and queries and made themselves available during their limited free time. In particular, our thanks go to the Director and bursar, Don Giuseppe Locatelli, the Headmistress of the Leonardo Murialdo, Ms Laura Ghersi, her assistant head, Don Massimo Rocchi who is also involved in the pastoral directorship of the Secondary Section of the Complex. It is noteworthy that Don Massimo was assigned with the difficult task of touring us around the eighteenth-century villa converted into the Educational Complex which houses a secondary modem school and a Liceo Scientifico together with the residential quarters of the Religious Community. The Education Division and in particular the Director General for granting us paid study leave. Our respective Heads of School, Ms. Yvonne Pulis and Mr Paul DeGabriele for the arrangements made in the school time-table to accommodate the students during our absence. Don Valerio Bocci, editor of the fortnightly magazine for children, MondoErre, who made all the arrangements prior to our arrival with the Director of the Murialdo Complex and also his own Director to host us at the Elle Di Ci, residential buildings of the Salesian Order of Don Giovanni Bosco in Corso Francia, Rivoli and without whose help none of the experience acquired would have been possible. A sincere thanks also goes to the Gallo family, especially Annamaria, who made it possible for us to enjoy both the kitchen and the beautiful sights of the Piedmont region and the Valle d'Aosta, thus giving us insight into the social and cultural milieu. Her husband Aldo and their son Dott. Massimo for the guided tours of Torino and the pleasant and most cordial Tv and conversation evenings. Our thanks also go to Professor Charles Farrugia PhD. (Lond.), F.R.S.A., of the Faculty of Education, University of Malta, on whose initiative these visits are organised. Mr Joseph Muscat BA (Hons.) for his contribution to the successful outcome of this educational venture.