In recent years, equity in education has been one of the main political issues debated at European and national level. The global crisis caused by the pandemic has strengthened the reasons for making education systems ever more equitable and inclusive.

The Council’s conclusions of 16 June 2020 on combating the Covid-19 crisis in education and training recognised that “one of the main challenges was the issue of ensuring inclusion and equal access to quality learning opportunities at a distance “.

In this political context, the Eurydice network produced a comparative report that the Italian unit translated into Italian and, given the growing interest also at a national level in relation to the topic, made it available through a partially reduced print version.

The new Eurydice Italy booklet “Equity in school education in Europe: structures, policies and student performance” compiles the first two parts of the Eurydice network report “Equity in School Education in Europe: Structures, Policies and Student Performance “: 1) Concepts and indicators of equity in education; 2) Characteristics of the educational system.

The comparative analysis offers an overview of educational structures and policies that affect equity in school education and examines 42 European education systems, trying to identify what are the characteristics of the education systems with lower levels of equity.

The first part consists of a theoretical overview of the concept of equity in education, as well as an analysis of indicators on the impact of the socio-economic context on student performance in international surveys (PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS). In addition, it examines country-specific information on national definitions relating to equity in education and disadvantages, as well as on central/top-level policy initiatives to address inequalities.

The second part is organised in twelve chapters, each examining a systemic factor that research highlights as influencing equity in education. Such factors include participation in early childhood education and care (ECEC), levels of funding in education, differentiation and types of schools, choice of school, admission policies, systems of choice of educational paths, repetition of school years, school autonomy, school accountability, support for disadvantaged schools, support for low-achieving students and opportunities to learn.

Read the in-depth article on the Eurydice website.

Booklet “Equity in school education in Europe: structures, policies and student performance” >>

What is Eurydice

Eurydice is the European network that collects, updates, analyses and disseminates information on the policies, structure and organisation of European education systems. Established in 1980 on the initiative of the European Commission, the network is made up of a European unit based in Brussels and various national units. Since 1985, Indire has been the seat of the Italian national unit.

Other useful links:

• Eurydice website – Italian national unity
• Eurydice website – European Central Unit
• All publications of the network