School rules: a comparison between Italian and Swedish schools School exchange Italy - Sweden

Mr or not? In Sweden we call the teachers by their first name or nickname (Svenke, Andreas…) In Italian schools you must use formal language towards the teachers (Mr and Mrs)

Smoking In Sweden you are not allowed to smoke in the school area even if you are 18. In Italy you are allowed to smoke in the school area if you are 16.

Dressing code In Swedish schools there aren’t any rules about dressing, you can wear whatever you like. In Italian schools the code says that you have to dress “properly”, the teachers decide what’s proper or not.

School Democracy In Sweden we have school democracy, that means that the students decide everything except the economic questions. In Italy we don’t have it. Every class has two representatives that express their requests to the headmaster.

Expelling In Sweden it’s difficult to get expelled, so it’s not common. At first you get a warning if you don’t follow the rules, and if it happens again you can get expelled for a week or so. After that if you still don’t behave you can get expelled for a longer time, but you still have the right to be educated at home. In Italy it’s easier to get expelled. The teachers give the students a warning at first, and after that the headmaster decides how many days the students are going to be expelled or he can give you a punishment, like cleaning up in the schoolyard or painting the classrooms.

Created by Mavi-Matilda Ilaria-Jenny Sabrina-Ingrid