Nuotare Contro Corrente: Povertà educativa e resilienza in Italia

The report  “Swimming Against the Tide: Educational poverty and resilience in Italy” sheds light on educational poverty in Italy and on the factors that stimulate resilience in children and adolescents living in the most disadvantaged contexts.

In Italy more than 1 in 10 children live in absolute poverty, over half do not read books and more than 40% do not do sports. The report shows that fifteen-year-olds living in poor families are almost 5 times more likely to not exceed the minimum level of skills in both mathematics and reading compared to their peers who live in wealthier families. However, among these minors, there are boys and girls who reach excellent levels of learning despite their disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The factors that help children emancipate themselves from situations of social and economic hardship include attending a nursery (+ 39% chance), a school rich in extracurricular activities (+ 127%), with adequate infrastructure (+167 %) or characterized by positive relationships between teachers and students (+ 100%).