Tolerance, like freedom and equality, is a fundamental feature of a mature citizenship in democratic societies (Almond and Verba 1963; Sherrod and Lauckhardt 2009). Tolerance of diversity is expected to promote democratic interaction and equitable participation in multicultural societies while intolerant attitudes may lead to racism and violence and pose threats to the stability of democratic institutions (Berry 2011; Berry and Sam 2014; Van Zalk et al. 2013). In a European context challenged by unpreceded

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The main aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between parental involvement and student science achievement using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Since it is not possible to eliminate the differences in students' economic, social and cultural status (ESCS), it is vital to understand which strategy could be most effective to promote equity in different school systems. Among the possible strategies, parental involvement has recently been conceived as a relevant factor. Data from a representative sample of 15-year-old Italian students who participated in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 were analyzed. The Italian data were compared with data from EU countries from the Mediterranean area that are culturally similar to Italy and that participated in the optional parent questionnaire, namely, France, Malta, Portugal, and Spain. Students completed the PISA test, and their parents completed the optional questionnaire that included questions regarding students' ESCS, attitudes and beliefs regarding science and their expectations regarding their children's educational careers. The model was successful in explaining the PISA test scores in science: the predicted model showed a good fit to the data with 25% of the variance explained. The results showed that ESCS contributed to the prediction of science achievement; furthermore, the results evidenced the positive, significant effects of parental involvement factors mediating the relationship between ESCS and PISA test achievement, especially in France, Malta and Portugal. Although the mediation effects were not large, they were statistically significant for all countries considered and suggested that parental involvement plays a mediating role in the effects of ESCS on science achievement, as evidenced by the significant indirect effects observed in the SEM analysis. Increasing parental participation could be a useful intervention to reduce ESCS-related differences in achievement.

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