Early Educational Inequalities: Socio-Emotional and Cognitive Skill Gaps among Italian Primary School Children

This paper investigates inequalities in cognitive and socio-emotional skills among Italian primary school children, with a focus on gender and migration background. Using original data from over 2,500 pupils in grades 3–5 across three regions, we measure mathematics performance, academic self-concept, growth mindset, prosocial behavior, socio-emotional skills, and gender norms. We document systematic gender gaps: girls outperform boys in socio-emotional and non-cognitive domains, while boys achieve higher scores in mathematics and math self-concept. Children with a migratory background perform worse in both cognitive and most non-cognitive outcomes. We further examine the role of one’s own and teachers’ gender-related attitudes and instructional practices. Children’s stronger adherence to gender stereotypes is associated with worse non-cognitive skills, notably socio-emotional skills, growth mindset, academic self-concept, and mathematics performance, with more pronounced associations for boys. At the teachers’ level, gender stereotypes are associated with lower self-efficacy and academic self-concept, particularly among girls, whereas more inclusive teaching practices are linked to higher mathematics achievement and improved socio-emotional outcomes. These associations are not explained by observable teacher characteristics. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of gender norms and teacher beliefs in shaping early educational inequalities and inform policies aimed at reducing skill gaps in primary education.