Cohort: SOMET 40

Topic of the thesis: A Way Out of Unequal Achievements. Inequalities in Learning Outcomes: The Role of School Contexts and Education Policies in Europe

Abstract: Inequality of educational opportunity has long been central to debates on social inequality and mobility across different societal contexts. It also lies at the heart of education reforms and policy interventions aimed at addressing disparities in achievement, particularly those affecting students from lower socio-economic and migrant backgrounds. Promoting equal opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds is widely recognized as a key objective of education policy. In this context, local and school-based initiatives often emerge as responses by educational institutions, families and communities seeking to meet the evolving needs of increasingly diverse student populations. In light of the challenges posed by globalization, increasing migration flows and changing labour markets across European countries in recent decades, education systems and targeted interventions play a crucial role in promoting equal opportunities among pupils from diverse backgrounds, as well as in fostering the development of non-cognitive skills, such as civic competencies, for all students. Nonetheless, their impact on the reduction of academic achievement inequalities, particularly for disadvantaged categories of students, requires further assessment, including an examination of the persistence of educational poverty within the Italian context. Italy represents a particularly valuable case study for examining school policies, educational achievement inequalities and equal opportunities. This is due to specific features of the Italian education system, related to its decentralised structure, persistent educational inequalities and marked territorial disparities in educational outcomes. The analyses will specifically focus on the role of school resources and inclusive educational interventions throughout the compulsory schooling period in Italy, from primary to lower secondary education, in shaping achievement disparities by social and migration backgrounds. The studies will employ both multilevel modelling and difference-in-differences techniques. Furthermore, socially inclusive education policies could be aligned with approaches that view democracy and equal opportunities not merely as end goals, but also as core values to be transmitted to all pupils through civic education and intercultural or diversity-related teaching. Democratic and participatory views of educational interventions, and of the policy-making processes that shape them, should also be further explored, particularly in relation to the role of parental involvement in the persistence of achievement gaps across schools with diverse compositions in terms of student backgrounds. I will leverage possibilities of linking student academic achievement data across educational grades from nationally representative sources with school-level measures from international educational surveys, primarily drawing on INVALSI (National Institute for the Evaluation of the Education System, based in Italy) and ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Education Study) datasets.

Research interests: Education; Social inequalities; Migration background-related inequalities; School-to-work transition and occupational returns to education; Quantitative methods and techniques of analysis

Graduated from: (MA) - University of Trento; (BA) - University of Padua

Degrees obtained: (MA)Sociology and Social Research"; (BA) - Sociological Sciences

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