Flexible use of school time and equity in education: evidence from an exploratory longitudinal school-based case study

Educational inequalities remain a persistent challenge across education systems, calling for evidence on school-level strategies that can be implemented and sustained within ordinary educational settings. This article examines the flexible use of school time - an organizational approach based on the intentional reorganization of lesson duration, daily schedules, transitions, and learning routines to reduce disciplinary fragmentation and support more coherent learning experiences—as a dimension of school organization potentially associated with more equitable learning-related outcomes. Drawing on an exploratory longitudinal school-based case study conducted in a lower secondary school in North-East Italy, the paper investigates how a consolidated model of flexible school scheduling, implemented for more than three years and aimed at promoting student autonomy, personalization, and engagement, relates to students’ study approach, confidence in one's own intelligence, and teacher-assigned grades. The analysis combines student questionnaire data, AMOS 8–15 Test scores, and administrative information provided by the school across two academic years. Quantitative evidence is enriched with qualitative data collected within the school context. Results point to relatively limited inequalities by socio-economic and migratory background, while gender differences and disadvantages for students with special educational needs remain more pronounced within the analyzed school-context. Longitudinal evidence suggests that most gaps remain stable over time, with no clear pattern of systematic widening. School satisfaction and participation in extracurricular activities appear associated with narrower gaps in study approach, particularly across gender groups and among students with special educational needs. Although causal claims are limited by the exploratory case-study design, the findings suggest that flexible use of school time may contribute to more equitable learning conditions, especially when embedded within a coherent whole-school strategy attentive to students’ motivational and self-regulatory dimensions.