Educational poverty and early school leaving: Professor Francesca Biondi Dal Monte's hearing in the Senate
Francesca Biondi Dal Monte, associate professor of Constitutional Law at the Dirpolis Institute of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, was heard as an expert by the VII Commission of the Senate of the Republic (Culture and Cultural Heritage, Public Education, Scientific Research, Entertainment and Sport) as part of the fact-finding investigation into educational poverty, dropout and early school leaving.
During her hearing, Professor Biondi Dal Monte highlighted the close connection between education, democracy, innovation and growth within the dynamics of a country. This is a key issue, not only in Italy but also in Europe, where, in 2024, 24.2% of children under the age of 18 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion (in Italy, the percentage is worse, rising to 27.1%).
This condition is strongly influenced by the family situation and the social context in which minors live. While early school leaving has decreased in recent years to 9.8%, the expansion of the school population has also led to an increase in the complexity within the education system, requiring the implementation of specific strategies and measures.
"To combat educational poverty and early school leaving - says Francesca Biondi Dal Monte - we need to adopt a holistic approach that recognises the multidimensional nature of these phenomena and addresses them by considering all their determinants: not only those related to schooling and education, but also the social, cultural, family, psychological and economic conditions that determine opportunities and limitations in children's paths".
Among the research conducted at the Sant'Anna School on this topic, we would like to highlight the volume edited by Francesca Biondi Dal Monte and Simone Frega, “Contrastare la dispersione scolastica. Analisi multidisciplinare di un fenomeno complesso” (Combating early school leaving. A multidisciplinary analysis of a complex phenomenon), Il Mulino, 2024, open access.
