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This paper analyses the intersection between the local project DIMMI, implemented in Castagneto Carducci (Tuscany, Italy), and the European research framework REVERS-ED (University of Siena), which aims to reverse educational inequalities through dialogic and community-based approaches.

Adopting a participatory action research approach, DIMMI was developed within a structured public network involving the Municipality of Castagneto Carducci, local early childhood education services, G. Borsi Comprehendive School, and the social cooperative Convoi. Targeting preschool children (3–6 years old), with a particular focus on those with migrant backgrounds, the project concentrated on Italian language acquisition and/or enrichment through small-group, playful laboratories, narrative practices, and linguistic support. However, a substantial and defining component of DIMMI was the active engagement of parents, embedded within a broader set of school- and territory-based initiatives.

Rather than treating families as external stakeholders, DIMMI sought to position them as co-educators. Multilingual communication, the presence of cultural mediators, simplified institutional materials, and collective meetings were designed to lower symbolic and linguistic barriers. Family participation was further strengthened through collaborative events, community gatherings, and informal spaces for dialogue, all promoted by the school and local actors. In this sense, language support became inseparable from trust-building and from the co-construction of an inclusive educational environment.

REVERS-ED extended and systematised this participatory orientation by proposing additional experimentation beyond the implementation of Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) and the systematic analysis of the achievements. In particular, dialogic family sessions, interactive groups in classrooms, and Dialogic Literary Gatherings are practices aimed at fostering shared meaning-making and high expectations for all students. Through interviews, focus groups, and participatory meetings, REVERS-ED initiated a path of co-design involving children, teachers, parents, educators and school leadership across pre-school services (3-6 y.o.), primary and lower secondary schools. This process allowed for a contextualised understanding of needs, expectations and local resources, reinforcing the territorial dimension. According to the dialogic methodology, the school is more than a mere service provider and is conceived as a deliberative space, where interventions are shaped through collective reflection and shared responsibility.

Putting DIMMI in dialogue with REVERS-ED shows how early language support, parental engagement and dialogic pedagogies can converge within a multi-level public network. The case demonstrates that reversing educational inequalities requires not only early and situated interventions but also sustained processes of participation, epistemic recognition and community co-construction. Educational innovation emerges not from isolated projects, but from relational ecosystems where families, schools and territorial actors jointly redefine the meaning and practice of inclusion.