The Meritevoli survey, conducted in collaboration with Roma Tre University, aims to contribute to the critical understanding of the different meanings of the concept of merit in the Italian school context by pursuing two specific objectives:

• to explore individual meanings of the concept of merit and the meritocratic beliefs of teachers and school leaders;
• to analyze how opinions on the meritocracy-education dyad translate into teaching, assessment, and organizational practices within the school environment.

The Meritevoli survey adopts a holistic and interdisciplinary approach and is divided into two phases. The first, qualitative in nature, involved conducting in-depth interviews with school leaders and teachers from comprehensive schools in the city of Rome. The data collected through this activity served as a basis for the second, quantitative phase: the construction of an electronic survey questionnaire to be completed via CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing) addressed to the leaders and teachers of the twelve schools involved in the activity.

Through the dissemination of the results of the Meritevoli survey, based on the representations, experiences, and opinions of school leaders and teachers in the first cycle of education, the project aims to contribute to the debate on the “meritocracy-education” dyad, initiating a critical reflection on the concept of equal opportunities. Communication activities will therefore be aimed at stimulating a broader reflection on the nature and objectives of today’s public schools, and at identifying transformative teaching-assessment practices oriented towards limiting the influence of ascribed factors (place of birth, gender, family cultural and economic status, etc.) on educational paths and outcomes.

For information about the research, please contact the following email addresses: giulia.ciancimino@cnr.it or giulia.ciancimino@uniroma3.it