Aloud! Against early school leaving

Overview & Synopsis

This volume presents the findings of PRIN Aloud!, an empirical research project carried out in and with schools, designed to investigate the effects of shared read-aloud practices in lower secondary education. Using a mixed-methods design—combining an ecological and quasi-experimental quantitative component—the study involved hundreds of teachers and students across three Italian regions, integrating quantitative and qualitative data while giving voice to the participants themselves. The aim was to determine whether a regular educational practice based on the shared read-aloud method—consisting of 80 classroom sessions in which teachers read works of fiction, followed by open discussion—could influence students’ cognitive, linguistic, and socio-relational abilities, thereby contributing to the prevention of early school leaving. The results reveal a significant and coherent impact: groups that implemented the protocol with high fidelity, improvements were observed in executive and attentional processes, in oral comprehension, and in socio-cognitive functioning, accompanied by positive developments in classroom climate and educational well-being. Aloud! demonstrates that a daily, sustainable, research-informed intervention—embedded within the curriculum, enacted by teachers, supported solely by stories and by substantial training and guidance—can serve as a genuine tool for equity and for democratic innovation in teaching practice. The project also highlighted an indirect effect of sustained use of the method: it succeeded in “shifting” the entire didactic action toward a pedagogy of listening, relationship-building, and shared growth for all students.