Conference Program

This paper analyses educational poverty in the Abruzzo region. It begins by situating Abruzzo within the national and European context, drawing on the BES territorial reports for Abruzzo (ISTAT, 2025) and cross-referencing this data with national and European indicators of educational inequality (ISTAT, 2024–2025; EU Education and Training Monitor, 2025). The study then maps the structural dimensions of educational disadvantage in the region, revealing its liminal position: Abruzzo ranks last among the more developed Centre-North regions yet first among the more disadvantaged regions of the Mezzogiorno. Overall, its indicators compare favourably with those of the southern regions — most notably an early school leaving rate of 8%, which falls below the EU target of 9%.

Second, narrowing the focus to the intra-regional level, the paper disaggregates the dropout rate variable to highlight significant internal disparities among Abruzzo's provincial capitals — particularly between the city of L'Aquila and peripheral areas — including disparities in the availability of early childhood education services (24.5% coverage, against the EU benchmark of 33%). Disparities between urban and rural areas are similarly examined, where the 33% threshold remains a distant target.

The paper then turns to regional measures countering educational poverty, including interventions funded by the PNRR (84 institutions, €8.76 million). Notable examples include third-sector projects promoted by Con i Bambini and Openpolis (2022) and the community education model Voci di Cura. The quantitative and qualitative outcomes of these initiatives are assessed across several dimensions: skills and learning, early childhood service coverage, NEET rates by area and gender, adult participation in education, and both explicit and implicit dropout.

A further issue the paper addresses is the considerable burden placed on families — and at times on individuals — in managing educational risk. Tackling educational poverty in Abruzzo therefore calls for interventions capable of building a collaborative network that integrates school institutions, third-sector organisations, local welfare systems, and community stakeholders, operating through territorialised pedagogical models designed to counter the social reproduction of educational disadvantage.

At the theoretical level, the paper draws on Bourdieu and Passeron's (1970) theory of cultural reproduction, Lareau's (2003) concept of concerted cultivation, the capability approach (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 2011), the educating community paradigm (Dewey, 1916; Frabboni, 2005), and recent literature on European learning cities and regions (OECD, 2013; UNESCO).