Educational Agency and Participatory Settling-In: Exploring Non-Formal ECEC Transitions

This study explores how a participatory settling-in process within L’ABC del Quartiere, a non-formal low-threshold educational space in a multicultural district of Milan, can strengthen educational agency for families with a migratory background and mediate transitions into formal ECEC services through shared practices. Research shows that families with a migratory background access ECEC services less consistently and face participation barriers (Eurydice, 2025; OECD, 2025). Inclusion requires strategies to transform ECEC settings into “sRelationship to previous research workspaces of encounter” (Tobin et al., 2013; Bove & Mantovani, 2015), fostering multicultural pedagogical alliances (Epstein, 2011). Grounded in a socio-cultural perspective, development emerges through situated, mediated and participatory interactions (Vygotsky, 1978). Within a systemic and ecological framework (Bateson, 1972; Bronfenbrenner, 1979), educational practices are socio-culturally embedded, requiring attention to the contexts influencing families’ engagement in ECEC (Rogoff, 2004; Bove, 2022). Conducted within a qualitative exploratory paradigm, the study draws on participatory observations and in-depth interviews with four mothers and their children (0–3), one cultural-linguistic mediator and four educators at L’ABC. A follow-up explores mothers whose children transitioned to nursery services, focusing on changes in participation and agency. Participants were informed about the research and consented. Care was given to linguistic mediation, cultural sensitivity and equitable participation. Preliminary findings suggest that participatory settling-in experiences fostered trust and shared practices, thereby strengthening mothers’ educational agency and institutional confidence, while supporting children’s smoother transitions into formal ECEC settings. This research highlights how inclusive participatory educational practices can enhance equitable access to ECEC, particularly for families not attending formal services.