Dalit Contini
Biographic Data
| ID | 4207302 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dalit Contini |
| GIVEN NAMES | Dalit |
| FAMILY NAME | Contini |
| SIGNATURE | CONTINI D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Turin |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6903-4060 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 49 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 11 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Aspirations as boundaries. Guidance practices and the reproduction of social inequality in free-choice tracking systems
Social disparities in educational decision-making are a well-known factor in the intergenerational reproduction of inequality. While existing research has emphasized differences in resources, expectations, and perceived risks, less attention has been paid to how interactions between families and schools shape these choices. This study examines the role of educational guidance practitioners in the reproduction of social inequality during the trans…
A lost generation? The impact of Covid-19 on high school students’ achievements
This paper estimates the effect of a full year of the Covid-19 pandemic on school performance in Italy, focusing on students at the end of upper secondary school who are about to enter the labour market or start university without having had the opportunity to recover. Using longitudinal data from standardised tests for the student population nationwide, we use difference-in-differences models to analyse the performance of two cohorts of students…
Children left behind. New evidence on the (adverse) impact of grade retention on educational careers
This article analyzes the effect of grade retention in high school on later school outcomes in Italy. Grade retention is a strong signal of poor performance, so retained students should revise downwards their perceived probability of success in school. Grade retention also implies an increase in costs. Therefore, we expect a negative effect on future educational careers. However, the evidence from the existing literature is mixed. Using longitudi…
Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies
Gender gaps in mathematics are at the root of gender differences in human capital accumulation, but the role of teaching practices on such gaps has been underinvestigated. We implement a teaching methodology to improve children's mathematical skills and evaluate the causal effect of the intervention on the gender gap in mathematics in Italy with a randomised controlled trial. The methodology, grounded in active and cooperative learning, focuses o…
Old habits die hard? School guidance interventions and the persistence of inequalities
Why do students leave university? Qualitative research at an Italian higher education institution
In this article, we discuss the results of qualitative research carried out at an Italian university for shedding light on the transition students undergo on entry to university, and for understanding associated difficulties that lead to student drop out. We use Vincent Tinto's and Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical apparatuses for analysing drop out in higher education as a process in which inequalities are expressed and reproduced. The intertwined s…
Persistency in the Neet state
This article addresses the NEET phenomenon in a longitudinal perspective, by examining the case of Italy, a country experiencing one of the highest and increasing NEET shares in the EU. We exploit the longitudinal sample of the 2008-2011 EU-SILC data, providing self-declared information on individuals’ educational and occupational status on a monthly basis for 4 years. Firstly, we propose a classification of individual histories in education, emp…
On Estimating Achievement Dynamic Models from Repeated Cross Sections
Despite the increasing spread of standardized assessments of student learning, longitudinal data on achievement data are still lacking in many countries. This article raises the following question: Can we exploit cross-sectional assessments held at different schooling stages to evaluate how achievement inequalities related to individual-ascribed characteristics develop over time? This is a highly policy relevant issue, as achievement inequalities…
Migrant Achievement Penalties in Western Europe
This article presents a comparative examination of the educational underachievement of second-generation immigrants in Western Europe near the end of compulsory schooling, based on the 2006–2009 waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment survey. We propose a new measure of migrant educational penalty—revealing the relative position of immigrant students within the achievement distribution of natives with the same socio-economic b…
Immigrant background peer effects in Italian schools
Would Declining Exit Rates from Welfare Provide Evidence of Welfare Dependence in Homogeneous Environments
Negative duration dependence in the exit rate from social assistance is an important issue addressed in the dynamic welfare participation literature. If heterogeneity is properly modelled, the decline of the exit rate is ascribed to a progressive reduction of the capability to get off welfare due to the detrimental effects of the benefit as time in welfare increases (Blank, 1989; Sandefur and Cook, 1998; Dahl and Lorentzen, 2003; Gangl, 2003; Cha…
Migrant Achievement Penalties in Western Europe
This article presents a comparative examination of the educational underachievement of second-generation immigrants in Western Europe near the end of compulsory schooling, based on the 2006–2009 waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment survey. We propose a new measure of migrant educational penalty—revealing the relative position of immigrant students within the achievement distribution of natives with the same socio-economic b…
Immigrant background peer effects in Italian schools
Persistency in the Neet state
This article addresses the NEET phenomenon in a longitudinal perspective, by examining the case of Italy, a country experiencing one of the highest and increasing NEET shares in the EU. We exploit the longitudinal sample of the 2008-2011 EU-SILC data, providing self-declared information on individuals’ educational and occupational status on a monthly basis for 4 years. Firstly, we propose a classification of individual histories in education, emp…
Would Declining Exit Rates from Welfare Provide Evidence of Welfare Dependence in Homogeneous Environments
Negative duration dependence in the exit rate from social assistance is an important issue addressed in the dynamic welfare participation literature. If heterogeneity is properly modelled, the decline of the exit rate is ascribed to a progressive reduction of the capability to get off welfare due to the detrimental effects of the benefit as time in welfare increases (Blank, 1989; Sandefur and Cook, 1998; Dahl and Lorentzen, 2003; Gangl, 2003; Cha…
Old habits die hard? School guidance interventions and the persistence of inequalities
Would Declining Exit Rates from Welfare Provide Evidence of Welfare Dependence in Homogeneous Environments
Negative duration dependence in the exit rate from social assistance is an important issue addressed in the dynamic welfare participation literature. If heterogeneity is properly modelled, the decline of the exit rate is ascribed to a progressive reduction of the capability to get off welfare due to the detrimental effects of the benefit as time in welfare increases (Blank, 1989; Sandefur and Cook, 1998; Dahl and Lorentzen, 2003; Gangl, 2003; Cha…
Immigrant background peer effects in Italian schools
Migrant Achievement Penalties in Western Europe
This article presents a comparative examination of the educational underachievement of second-generation immigrants in Western Europe near the end of compulsory schooling, based on the 2006–2009 waves of the Programme for International Student Assessment survey. We propose a new measure of migrant educational penalty—revealing the relative position of immigrant students within the achievement distribution of natives with the same socio-economic b…
On Estimating Achievement Dynamic Models from Repeated Cross Sections
Despite the increasing spread of standardized assessments of student learning, longitudinal data on achievement data are still lacking in many countries. This article raises the following question: Can we exploit cross-sectional assessments held at different schooling stages to evaluate how achievement inequalities related to individual-ascribed characteristics develop over time? This is a highly policy relevant issue, as achievement inequalities…
Persistency in the Neet state
This article addresses the NEET phenomenon in a longitudinal perspective, by examining the case of Italy, a country experiencing one of the highest and increasing NEET shares in the EU. We exploit the longitudinal sample of the 2008-2011 EU-SILC data, providing self-declared information on individuals’ educational and occupational status on a monthly basis for 4 years. Firstly, we propose a classification of individual histories in education, emp…
Why do students leave university? Qualitative research at an Italian higher education institution
In this article, we discuss the results of qualitative research carried out at an Italian university for shedding light on the transition students undergo on entry to university, and for understanding associated difficulties that lead to student drop out. We use Vincent Tinto's and Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical apparatuses for analysing drop out in higher education as a process in which inequalities are expressed and reproduced. The intertwined s…
Old habits die hard? School guidance interventions and the persistence of inequalities
Children left behind. New evidence on the (adverse) impact of grade retention on educational careers
This article analyzes the effect of grade retention in high school on later school outcomes in Italy. Grade retention is a strong signal of poor performance, so retained students should revise downwards their perceived probability of success in school. Grade retention also implies an increase in costs. Therefore, we expect a negative effect on future educational careers. However, the evidence from the existing literature is mixed. Using longitudi…
Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies
Gender gaps in mathematics are at the root of gender differences in human capital accumulation, but the role of teaching practices on such gaps has been underinvestigated. We implement a teaching methodology to improve children's mathematical skills and evaluate the causal effect of the intervention on the gender gap in mathematics in Italy with a randomised controlled trial. The methodology, grounded in active and cooperative learning, focuses o…
A lost generation? The impact of Covid-19 on high school students’ achievements
This paper estimates the effect of a full year of the Covid-19 pandemic on school performance in Italy, focusing on students at the end of upper secondary school who are about to enter the labour market or start university without having had the opportunity to recover. Using longitudinal data from standardised tests for the student population nationwide, we use difference-in-differences models to analyse the performance of two cohorts of students…
Aspirations as boundaries. Guidance practices and the reproduction of social inequality in free-choice tracking systems
Social disparities in educational decision-making are a well-known factor in the intergenerational reproduction of inequality. While existing research has emphasized differences in resources, expectations, and perceived risks, less attention has been paid to how interactions between families and schools shape these choices. This study examines the role of educational guidance practitioners in the reproduction of social inequality during the trans…
Psychology (7 works) · Demographic economics (6 works) · Economics (6 works) · School Choice and Performance (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Inequality (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Econometrics (3 works) · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies (3 works) · Context (archaeology) (2 works)