Save the Children undertook an explorative pilot study, to examine the educational poverty which afflicts the youngest children in Italy. A one of a kind study in Italy, it aims to analyse the inequalities that exist in the acquisition of educational skills and proficiency starting in early childhood, and the factors that create them, from the standpoint of sociodemographic and cultural conditions as well as of childhood education programs attended.

The study made use of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool, developed by Save the Children International and used in over 40 countries worldwide. IDELA measures children’s progress between the ages of 3 and 6, using four different areas of skills and development: physical, linguistic, mathematical, and social-emotional.