Efficacy in interventions encouraging Scholastic success: overview of research studies

The phenomenon of scholastic failure which affects vulnerable sections of the society has given rise, in numerous countries, to a wide array of interventions. In America, for example, from the end of the 1960s, compensatory education programmes were developed, aimed at preventing scholastic failure and encouraging social inclusion, with wide-ranging actions (e.g. Head Start, High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, Abecedarian Early Intervention Project, SMART etc.) . On the other hand, as part of the same overall objective, a specific line of research concentrated on identifying models of efficacy in schools, starting with exemplary institutes, located in at risk contexts, which nevertheless succeeded in helping their students achieve good scholastic results (Weber, 1971) . More specific research studies were subsequently developed, relative to teaching efficacy . Longitudinal and evaluation research studies therefore focused on analysing the effect of some types of didactic interventions, to identify the most influential factors. In this chapter we will focus our attention on the same. More specifically, reference will be made to studies based on empirical evidence (EBE, Evidence Based Education) since this approach allows us to more effectively summarise the vast body of literature concerning this topic.