Mathematics and Technical Secondary Instruction from 1848 (Boncompagni Law) to the Casati Law (1859): the Role of the “Società d’Istruzione e di Educazione”

Abstract

In this paper we present the internal dynamics which led to the elaboration of the Casati law (1859) in the Sardinia Kingdom from 1848 (Boncompagni law) onwards. Through the analysis of the pedagogic periodicals and of the sittings of the Superior Council of Education we show the role of the Società d’Istruzione e di Educazione (1849-1859). Thanks to the competence and the political authority of some members – many of them pedagogues, professors of the University of Turin and components of the Parliament – the Society sustained a new pedagogical approach and promoted scientific disciplines, by open debates about programs, texts and comparisons with high-level technical institutions abroad. The purpose is to cast new light on the influences of this Society on mathematical education of secondary and technical schools and to provide details on the protagonists involved in the draft of the laws.

Key words: Mathematical Education, Superior Council of Public Education, Scientific schools