Reforming Universities in Italy: Towards a New Paradigm?

Using the case of Italy, the work aims at: (a) understanding the underlying rationales, motivations and justifi cations which characterize the actual reform, and (b) highlighting in what respect the reform addressed the cultural and cognitive frameworks which shape the national academic system. Our hypothesis is that a reforming process, to drive signifi cant changes in an institutional paradigm, must act towards the main features, ideas, values and assets which support it (Hall 1993 ), and that, instead of sudden changes, gradual transformations are more likely to be observed. Thus, we questioned whether the policy design of the reform, and the tools it proposes, would support changes in the dominating paradigm allowing the academic system to move from the bureaucratic-continental model to a new model of governance (Capano 2008 ; Maassen and Stensaker 2010 ; Reale and Potì 2009 ). Reform implementation is not explored at this stage; rather the focus is on the design and contents of the reform and how it acts with respect to the main features of the national paradigm. Possible trajectories of academic institutions and the transformation of the HE system it might put forward are finally discussed.