Abstract
This chapter aims to contribute to pedagogical reflection on the issue of equity in education, placing a specific focus on the Italian context. Having traced a normative and institutional framework on the Italian school system, old and new inequalities that impact students' educational experience will be analyzed. There is an urgent need to focus on nontraditional factors of inequality: they are produced by the school itself, combined with classical causes of inequality (socioeconomic and sociocultural background), and produce unprecedented forms of inequity. It is therefore necessary to understand how to take action to promote equity in school and build a more equitable society. The idea is that creative and courageous use of school autonomy is helpful in overcoming current inequalities. From this perspective, talking about educational justice rather than restorative justice allows us to construct a paradigm that combines the demands of equity and social justice with some aspects of restorative justice without giving in to the risk of compensatory pedagogy.
TopBackground: The Italian School Between Equity Tension And Old And New Inequalities
In Italy, school is seen as the key instrument for the development of the country and the exercise of citizenship by all. Creating a more inclusive and fairer society and realizing the democratic project is a task to which schools must contribute as a priority. Several articles of the Constitution of the Italian Republic, in force since 1948, are dedicated to schools and analyze themes that are essential to connote education in a democratic sense (Cartabia & Lupo, 2022).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Equity: Need to ensure excellence in education for all in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, equipping everyone with the skills necessary to exercise citizenship in terms of participation in political, social, cultural, economic life on a local and global level and maintaining that pluralism is the norm and there is no canon to adhere to.
Mixité: Characteristic of educational and training contexts; the Italian school is “open to all” and needs a pedagogically substantiated educational design capable of recognizing and valuing diversity and acting under the banner of equity.
Unfairness: Situation where people do not have equal access to democratic life; in the case of schools, these are dynamics whereby not everyone is guaranteed an excellent education at the same level.
Intercultural Education: Field of study aimed at institutionalizing pluralism and making sure that diversity does not turn into inequality; it is not a pedagogy for foreigners, but a pedagogy of diversity in the plural that makes sure that everyone can realize their aspirations.
Educational Justice: Form of justice according to education succeeds in reducing inequalities to build a fairer society in which everyone has an equal chance to participate in democratic processes; it includes some aspects of restorative justice, such as the focus on community and the idea that inequalities are everyone’s problem, without giving in to compensatory pedagogy.
School Autonomy: Legal and organizational structure of Italian schools, according to which individual institutions make autonomous choices in organizational, managerial, financial, and educational matters by developing educational policies consistent with the general purposes of the education system.
Traditional Factors of Inequality: This expression refers to the socio-economic and socio-cultural background of students.
Non-Traditional Factors of Inequality: Inequalities created by schools due to their organizational culture and operating choices; they are very specific and differ from school to school and make the school experience unfair for students.