SCHOOL CHOICE AND JOB EXPECTA-TIONS OF ITALIAN PUPILS AFTER THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

This study examines the relationship between school choice processes and Italian pupils’ expectations in the post-pandemic educational land-scape. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified educational inequalities in Italy, where traditional factors like social origin, gender, immigration status, and disabilities interact with new health, economic, and digital el-ements. Using data from PISA 2022, released in December 2023, this re-search investigates how social background, school tracking, and the pan-demic context influence students’ educational and occupational expec-tations. The analysis employs regression models to examine how job ex-pectations of Italian fifteen-year-old students are shaped by social origin, school choice, and track placement, while considering traditional deter-minants of educational inequalities. Building on previous research, this study aims to provide an updated picture of the Italian educational sce-nario following the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on how educational pathways and social factors shape students’ occupational aspirations in this transformed context.