Neoliberal education reforms, student activism and youth conditions in Italy. Findings from a case study on three Italian student organisations

The way young people live is currently undergoing radical changes. An «ecology of contemporary youth» can be described by combining various policy frameworks in education, labour and welfare provision. This empirical research study concentrates on the relationship between the lengthy, far-ranging cycle of neoliberal education reforms in Italy and students’ unfaltering opposition to them. In particular, it focuses on three Italian student organisations (comprising senior high school and university students), examining both their origins and current activities, before exploring the far-reaching policy changes in Italy in recent decades, and the student protests against these policies which have profoundly affected education and thus youth in general. The study offers an analytical-empirical framework to tackle these issues.