La matematica negli istituti tecnici dal dopoguerra agli anni ’90

Abstract

Mathematics in technical education has not only a practical function, but also a formative one of an exact mentality, comparable in relevance to that which ancient languages have in classical education. The technical education reform, initiated by the engineer Giuseppe Belluzzo (1876-1952) and formulated with law no. 889 of 1931, gave a new definition of technical institutes with regard to their organization and programs. The post-war reconstruction, the rapid growth of Italy during the so-called "Economic miracle" together with the need to compete on an international level, made it necessary to create new technical specialties in the first half of the seventies; these were inserted into the pre-existing school system to respond to the needs related to the training of new professional figures required by the changes taking place in the world of work and the development of new information technologies, which gradually became increasingly linked to mathematics. The study of the history of technical institutes and the analysis of the teachings imparted there thus becomes a key to reading the context drawn by the technological evolution of the late twentieth century and an instrument to understand future prospects.