The increase of the number of foreign students in the schools of the Apulia Region never stopped in the last decades. This increase followed the trend of the migration flows in our country and, in the last ten years, it went from 1.04% in 2003/04 (data from the survey realised by the Apulia Office of Education in collaboration with the Department of Political Science-University of Bari) to 2.51% in 2013/14 (MIUR). In this scenario, the Province of Bari, does the lion share considering that it receives almost half of the foreign students population of the whole region mainly concentrated in the chief town – Bari. More than this a number of unaccompanied minors particularly high makes this phenomenon more complicated. For these reasons, the education institutions have been pressed in rethinking and reorganising themselves on the base of the principles of the inclusion and integration. Until the school year 2010-11 all the different schools were clustered in some poles (Centri Risorse Interculturali di Territorio - CRIT) that coordinated services like the teachers training and the monitoring of the interventions in favour of the foreigner students. These poles represented important points of reference on the territory also for documentation and advising. This kind of organization is still formally existing even tough, with the reform of the State balance in 2010, it has been weaken to the point that it has no more reasons to exist anymore. What does it remain? Good practices in single schools especially in terms of student reception protocols where the stability of the teaching staff allows it. These good practices counterbalanced to a certain extent the drastic reduction of public investments in this field, however, they have not been sufficient to contrast the school dispersion. In fact, it has to be underlined that even if on one hand the general dispersion rate is decreasing thanks to some strategic decisions concerning the education policies, on the other hand, this same rate remains still too high (the double) for the foreign students. What is it possible to do in such a weaken context? One possibility is to apply the indications and the guidelines of the Education Ministry that invite the schools and the local institutions to operate as a network. Anyhow, it is the cultural perspective of the integration that pays for this radical change. If culture means the willingness to modify themselves through a continuous and mutual experiences exchange (Anolli L.), at the same time, the radicalisation of the conflicts does no longer induce the individual (foreigner or autochthonous) to consider a positive and dynamic relationship with “the other”. This context, of course, contributes to build walls masked with the rights claiming, leaving a little space to the progress and the innovation.
Foreign students: scenarios, best practises and critical issues
PELLICANI, Michela Camilla;
2015-01-01
Abstract
The increase of the number of foreign students in the schools of the Apulia Region never stopped in the last decades. This increase followed the trend of the migration flows in our country and, in the last ten years, it went from 1.04% in 2003/04 (data from the survey realised by the Apulia Office of Education in collaboration with the Department of Political Science-University of Bari) to 2.51% in 2013/14 (MIUR). In this scenario, the Province of Bari, does the lion share considering that it receives almost half of the foreign students population of the whole region mainly concentrated in the chief town – Bari. More than this a number of unaccompanied minors particularly high makes this phenomenon more complicated. For these reasons, the education institutions have been pressed in rethinking and reorganising themselves on the base of the principles of the inclusion and integration. Until the school year 2010-11 all the different schools were clustered in some poles (Centri Risorse Interculturali di Territorio - CRIT) that coordinated services like the teachers training and the monitoring of the interventions in favour of the foreigner students. These poles represented important points of reference on the territory also for documentation and advising. This kind of organization is still formally existing even tough, with the reform of the State balance in 2010, it has been weaken to the point that it has no more reasons to exist anymore. What does it remain? Good practices in single schools especially in terms of student reception protocols where the stability of the teaching staff allows it. These good practices counterbalanced to a certain extent the drastic reduction of public investments in this field, however, they have not been sufficient to contrast the school dispersion. In fact, it has to be underlined that even if on one hand the general dispersion rate is decreasing thanks to some strategic decisions concerning the education policies, on the other hand, this same rate remains still too high (the double) for the foreign students. What is it possible to do in such a weaken context? One possibility is to apply the indications and the guidelines of the Education Ministry that invite the schools and the local institutions to operate as a network. Anyhow, it is the cultural perspective of the integration that pays for this radical change. If culture means the willingness to modify themselves through a continuous and mutual experiences exchange (Anolli L.), at the same time, the radicalisation of the conflicts does no longer induce the individual (foreigner or autochthonous) to consider a positive and dynamic relationship with “the other”. This context, of course, contributes to build walls masked with the rights claiming, leaving a little space to the progress and the innovation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
