Italian Reference Values: Observation Report

In order to explain this observation, we should apply some numerical values. Let’s apply a reference value for the amount of money that a male who doesn’t have a degree could make in Italy. This value will be considered “100” to keep things simple. If this male Italian student manages to complete his degree, the amount of money that he would make would increase from 100 to 141 (there is a 41% increase). If we were talking about a female with the same conditions, her wages would only increase from 100 to 112 (or a 12% increase) (Checchi 179). However, in the United States, these reference values are much higher. These reference values for United States workers with bachelor’s degrees are 168 for males (a 68% increase) and 175 for females (a …show more content…
However, there are really two different sides of ability that children as well as young adults (such as college students) possess. The most dominant view of ability is the “entity view of ability”. This view states that ability is a “belief that [ability] is a fixed characteristic that cannot be changed” (Woolfolk 388). However, ability could also be viewed as “incremental”. This particular view states that ability is a “belief that [ability] is a set of skills that can be changed” (Woolfolk 388). Many Italian parents tie ability into making money to support the rest of the family. Thus, it can be said that these families believe in the “incremental view of ability” since they are convinced that the ability of their child to earn money changes with the new set of skills that their children learn in school. However, one could argue that many Italian parents believe in the “entity view of ability” because the levels of relative intelligence (IQ) of their children doesn’t change since IQ is something that you are born with and no amount of schooling would increase this “natural” intelligence. It should be noted that this would a valid point. But based on how “able” the Italian parents feel their child is to do well academically, this will determine the probability of these parents allowing their child to continue on with their education after high school …show more content…
Many Italian base their decisions on their emotions or feelings and this is reflected in how all schools are organized from elementary school to college. Even though there are many upsides and downsides to this system, the Italian Education System is truly unique in many ways both good and bad, due to the extremely gradual easing of young Italians in elementary school, allowing these young Italians to choose their future career path as young as 13 or 14 years old, and giving them the ability to complete their learning at no cost at the university