Secondary school mathematics teachers and their training in pre- and post-unity Italy (1810–1920)

This paper traces the evolution of the profession of mathematics teacher in Italy during the transition of the country from a cluster of small, individual states to a single, unified nation. Our focus will be on the plans carried out for teacher training in the period from 1810, when the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa was created to train prospective teachers, to 1920, when the Scuole di Magistero (Teacher Training Schools) were suppressed. In particular, we have set two objectives: (a) to show how the idea changed of what disciplinary and pedagogical knowledge was useful for training future teachers, (b) to illustrate the contributions of a significant group of mathematics teachers who worked along several different lines for the improvement of education.