RISULTATI RICERCA

This contribution offers a reflection on the practical use of the Theory of Change (ToC) through the analysis of a case study. The case examined concerns the evaluation of the CoMix project, funded by the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), which includes co-housing initiatives targeting vulnerable groups – young people with disabilities and NEET youth – as well as the activation of multifunctional hubs aimed at bringing public administration closer to peripheral urban areas and fostering processes of social and labour inclusion and community engagement across Tuscan territories. The evaluation of the project provides an opportunity to reflect on the role of the ToC in evaluation practice, highlighting both its flexibility and its practical limitations. In particular, the case shows how the ToC, although widely adopted in evaluation practice, may lead to unsatisfactory outcomes when it remains anchored to the initial assumptions about how an intervention is expected to work and is not adequately adapted to changes in context and in the evaluation process. 

The paper deepens the role of the external evaluation of schools as a lever for the improvement of the education system. A qualitative systematic review of literature based on the PRISMA method selected 20 contributions related to the impacts of external evaluation on school processes. The study explores external evaluation practices carried out in different European countries, highlighting a marked heterogeneity in the impact of these processes and showing how external evaluation may be able to generate long-term positive effects on organizational change and decision-making processes. The analysis found that the perception of quality by recipients, fairness and transparency in the feedback from external evaluation and inspection visits, stakeholder involvement and change-oriented leadership of the school leader can be key elements in implementing improvement actions.

The digital transition of the Italian Public Administration (Decree Law no. 82/2005) promotes public sector innovation policies, requiring mastery in the use of tools and services offered digitally to users, the perception of which is crucial to assess their usability. In the evaluation process of the Italian National Evaluation System in education and training (Presidential Decree 80/2013), the legislator stipulates that the Self-Evaluation Report (RAV), which all schools are required to draw up, must be in digital format. The contribution delves into the perception of schools regarding the use of the RAV platform. Using a mixed method, quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on the data collected from the surveys carried out during the experimentation of the RAV for pre-schools and the experimentation of the RAV for vocational training and the systematization of the RAV for the provincial centers for adult education. The results show the perception of the use of the RAV platform by the pre-schools, the accredited training centers that deliver vocational training courses and the CPIAs, also by comparing the different educational segments.

The paper examines the regional program Diritti a Scuola (DAS), designed to combat school dropout and educational disengagement while promoting social inclusion among students. A counterfactual analysis, based on INVALSI data, compared schools participating in DAS with non-participating institutions matched through Propensity Score Matching. The findings indicate positive effects on students’ skills, particularly in the lower grades of the education system. A qualitative analysis, drawing on interviews with school principals, teachers, and experts, supports the positive impact of the program. It shows that the program’s positive impacts on students’ motivation, inclusion, and competencies are closely linked to factors such as enhanced teacher professionalism, the adoption of innovative teaching practices, and the involvement of external experts. Overall, the evaluation highlights that the program’s multidimensional model has strengthened collaboration among schools, communities, and families, thereby helping to mitigate the risks of school dropout and the intergenerational transmission of educational disadvantage.