In 2005-2006, in light of the consolidated experience of secondary schools specialising in the area of social sciences, the CSS – following on from activities started by an ad hoc Study Committee in 1975, coordinated by Clotilde Pontecorvo, which delegated its members to sit on committees set up by the Ministry of Education and published the well-received volume (Einaudi 1977) on Scienze Sociali e riforma della scuola secondaria (“Social sciences and the reform of the secondary school”) – decided to assess the performance of such schools.
In an initial phase, in 2005, this evaluation included a field survey, with questionnaires given to a sample of 21 schools, and deep interviews with teachers. In a second phase, in 2006, Clotilde Pontecorvo coordinated an informal working group, which collected numerous written declarations from teachers and experts in the sector. These materials were brought together and published in 2007, edited by Clotilde Pontecorvo and Lucia Marchetti (Nuovi saperi per la scuola. Le scienze sociali trent’anni dopo (“New know-how for schools, social sciences thirty years on”, Marsilio, Venezia, 2007).