The evolution of the Italian Adult Learning System (1990s-2020s): policy fragmentation, institutional dynamics and European influence

This chapter provides an in-depth examination of the Italian Adult Learning System (ALS) with the double aim of mapping its current features and examining its development over three decades (the 1990s-2020s). First, the authors map the type of provision and providers (supply side) the system encompasses and the coordinating institutions and key stakeholders as of 2023. Then, they reconstruct the sequencing in its development, with its unique paths of institutional building over time, path-dependency dynamics that brought about continuity, and events that have caused discontinuity. To this scope, they adopt a historical institutionalism perspective and draw on secondary sources. The results show that adult learning institutions have been created or reconfigured by frequent and sometimes hectic legislative activity, and mostly in response to social, economic, and political crises. This failed to produce a strong level of coordination among many institutional actors at the national or regional level.