Migratory processes and inclusion of foreign students in the Italian school system: intercultural perspectives

Recent migratory processes have brought profound social changes in most European countries; this has happened also in the Italian context. These changes concern both people and institutions, called to deal with the problems created by the globalization of markets, economic crisis, coexistence of different cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages and traditions. The multicultural society has penetrated even into classrooms where the presence of foreign students has become a constant feature in all EU school systems. This paper, considering the documents of some of the most important international institutions (OECD, UNHCR, European Commission, Council and European Parliament, Cedefop, Eurydice), the Italian Ministry of Education, INVALSI, INDIRE, ISMU Foundation, and Isfol, and statistics provided by Eurostat and ISTAT, examines the level of inclusion of foreign students in Italian schools, paying attention to the demographic characteristics, difficulties of integration, and school results of non-Italian students. On the institutional side, the effectiveness of policies and measures implemented by the Italian system of education and training is investigated in the perspective of intercultural education and an inclusive, equitable and democratic school-system capable of highlighting each student’s specificity and personal capacities, preventing forms of marginalization, social and professional exclusion, early school leaving, new radicalism of racial and ethnic origin.