ORpen Day with a lot of image and little content, hasty and obvious guidance advice, and above all the more or less explicit pressure from mom and dad: for eighth grade students, the choice of high school has always been complicated. To help them with school orientation, a completely free digital platform was created. promoted and created by De Agostini Foundation and from Agnelli Foundation: is called FUTURESand is a path aimed at teachers and students, to which teachers can sign up at any time during the school year.
A screenshot of the FUtuRI digital platform for middle school school orientation
We remind you that, from September, in first and second level secondary schools at least 30 hours are mandatoryto be carried out during school or extracurricular hours, dedicated precisely to scholastic orientation, according to the indications provided for by the PNRR. Hours that can be filled with useful content. «The platform is designed to help teachers work on the talents and inclinations of children over the three years, so that they arrive at an informed choice», says Andrea Gavosto, of the Agnelli Foundation. «It is a coherent path, not episodic activities».
On an experimental basis, FUtuRI has already started in all regions (except Val d’Aosta): there are 2537 registered teachers from 638 comprehensive institutes, of which over 100 have already started operations. Which are of different types: self-knowledge questionnaires (to be carried out once a year for three years), where the children answer questions about their favorite and least favorite subjects, the difficulties they encounter and their interests. Then there are the disciplinary questionnaires on Italian mathematics and English, along the lines of the tests. Again: the orientation modules are important, transversal, which involve the entire class college, during which students carry out group work where they discover many professions. Finally, informative content on high school, with links and videos.
School orientation affects dropout
Each student, on his profile, can follow his personal growth, the progress, the uncertainties, the determination and maybe even how his interests change over time. The teacher can follow the development of key skills for each student on the basis of which he will be able to take stock of the skills acquired. He will emerge as a complete portrait, in the making.
«The first results are very positive and above expectations”, continues Gavosto. «Today the guidance advice given by teachers to eighth grade students is often limited to ratifying achievement. With FUtuRI this advice will be much richer and more oriented.” Meanwhile, an experimental agreement is being discussed with the Ministry of Education and Merit for possible synergies with the UNICA ministerial platform.
Over time, FUtuRI could provide broader indications: «it will be interesting to see, in a few years, how much it will affect school dropout», adds Marcella Drago, general secretary of the De Agostini Foundation. «We will be able to ask the kids who followed the path in high school if FUtuRI worked, if they are satisfied with the choice or if they changed their path, monitoring dropout rates. For our part, the medium-term objective is to be able to give geo-oriented advice on a territorial basis.”
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