The School of Merit
Maria-Chiara Michelini
This essay deals with the theme of merit with reference to the school system, which, especially in recent times, has been insistently re-proposed and affirmed as a guiding criterion for school action, so much so that it has been taken as the title of the Ministry of Education and Merit. The essay compares two perspectives: the neo-liberal one and the one devoted to human development. Analysing the implications of both and taking a clear position in favour of the latter, it emphasises the responsibility of the pedagogical community to reflect on crucial issues of schooling with reference to the topic. The essay also emphasises the need for the pedagogical community to propose a proactive dialogue with political, social and cultural forces in order to elaborate possible comprehensive, institutional and social strategies in the direction of human development, also through a contribution of critical denunciation of what is opposed to it.
Keywords
Merit, Equity, Equality, Education System, Development.
