Kindergarten years can play a pivotal role in reducing inequalities, but the kindergartens’ quality and educational model may be unequally distributed among social groups and pupils’ composition may be characterized by segregation processes. The functioning of kindergarten is a relatively understudied topic in social inequality studies, especially for Italy. There are several issues that need to be investigated in relation to inequality. We focus on three research questions. Research questions and gaps that we intend to fill:
1. How strong are different types of inequalities (gender, social class, migratory background) in education outcomes already in pre-primary school?
2. How important is nursery attendance (for children below 3 years) for the development of children’ skills and for the reduction/reinforcement of social inequalities in early childhood?
3. Do social inequalities in relation to education outcomes differ depending on the specific model of kindergarten education is provided?
1. How strong are different types of inequalities (gender, social class, migratory background) in education outcomes already in pre-primary school?
2. How important is nursery attendance (for children below 3 years) for the development of children’ skills and for the reduction/reinforcement of social inequalities in early childhood?
3. Do social inequalities in relation to education outcomes differ depending on the specific model of kindergarten education is provided?