Il primo lockdown e l’avvio della DAD come banco di prova dei processi di digitalizzazione della scuola italiana, tra disuguaglianze e inclusione

The COVID-19 emergency profoundly challenged Italian schools, worsening the digital divide both in technology access and the provision of digital-mediated school experiences. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data collected with the Joint Research Center before the first lockdown, the study elucidates Italian children and parents’ experiences with digital technologies and media in distance learning. Results show how social, economic and cultural differences in schools’ and families’ responses to the lockdown can foster inequalities in learning processes. Our findings can also inform reflections on the ongoing digitisation processes to prevent Italian schools from becoming exclusive.