Understanding school effects: how the socio-economic and ethnic composition of schools affects educational inequalities
This project focuses on school composition effects on educational outcomes among students. The research has the following aims: i) to understand how school composition influences educational outcomes for students from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds; (b) to assess whether this influence is mediated by factors such as career advice, choices and educational pathways; and (c) to identify ways of mitigating the negative effects of school composition by identifying good practices in other European countries. The research will focus on lower secondary school, as this represents a crucial juncture in the Italian education system.
The research will concentrate on the metropolitan areas of the main Italian cities, with a particular focus on two large Italian cities, Milan and Naples. The empirical analysis will be divided into three parts:
- statistical analysis of the relationship between school composition and educational outcomes in metropolitan areas.
- qualitative analysis In Milano and Napoli of the mechanisms through which school composition and the advice provided by teachers influence the choice of upper secondary school by students and their families.
- a comparative policy analysis of good practices from other countries, with a view to identifying ways of enhancing the ability of schools to reduce social inequalities.
The project will contribute to our understanding of school effects. School composition is widely viewed as an important driver of inequalities. By generating robust estimates of the magnitude of these effects, and testing a range of mediating variables, we hope to be able to make a contribution to international debates and discussions about educational policies in Italy.
Duration
2023–2025
LPS team
Costanzo Ranci, Carlotta Caciagli, Marta Cordini, Andrea Parma, Berenice Scandone, Francisco Gabriel Ferraioli Karamanian
Consortium
Politecnico di Milano, Università Federico II Napoli
Funding Body
Fondazione Cariplo