NIM NATIONAL ACTIVITIES: ITALY
Report of the activities for integration
Partner’s name and Country of origin
ForModena - Formazione professionale per i territori modenesi Società Consortile a respnsabilità llimitata
(ForModena) - ITALY
Context and local partners
The project was carried out in the city of Modena, also thanks to the collaboration of the 10th scholastic
District of Modena (10° Circolo scolastico di Modena), City & School Association of Modena (associazione
Città & Scuola di Modena), and the Parents' Committee of the Primary School of Saliceto Panaro (Comitato
Genitori Saliceto).
Target groups
The target group is composed by foreign women of all ages, social status and religious beliefs that live in
Modena. Women who participate in the activities all have a valid residence permit because it is almost
impossible to contact the non-regular foreigners for they fear being reported to the authorities.
Goals
Facilitate the integration of foreign women through the following actions:
• To increase the level of knowledge of the Italian language
• To enhance social relations outside the family
• To involve children and foreign children as "leverage" to "force women to leave their homes."
• To Involve foreign women to participate actively in the social life of the primary schools of Saliceto
Panaro and Palestrina. In fact, in the above mentioned schools there are different groups of parent
volunteers who organize over the year many initiatives on behalf of children and their parents.
Description of the activity (summary and main activities)
Assumption:
most of the foreign women living in Modena, unlike men, they live “lonely” with few social relationships
with the city life. Often the role of reference of the family to the outside is entirely delegated to men, while
their task stops at the conduction of the house.
The biggest obstacle to deal with concerned resistances carried out within the family to allow women to
"leave home" and live a social activity. The staff of ForModena thought to indirectly involve other members
of the household; the children. Through the Comitato Genitori Saliceto and 10° Circolo scolastico, it was
found that many foreign students have a high IQ, they get good results in science subjects, but they have
enormous difficulties in the Italian language, with much unsatisfactory outcomes.
From these assumptions is born then the initiative "A school with mom and dad" with the support, as well
as the organizations mentioned above, also of 'association' City & School " (Città & Scuola), an organization
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of volunteer teachers from Modena that support students in difficulty of secondary schools and higher
education institutes. Foreign children who attended the course in the company of at least one of the
parents, who were "forced" to participate actively in the lessons with the excuse of having to check the
studies of their children and to evaluate progress.
The activities carried out were as follows:
1. Development of a questionnaire to be used for interviewing foreign women with the aim of
bringing out the real needs of the female population of foreign residents in Modena
2. Interview with about 30 foreign women to identify the needs
3. Analysis and processing of data to verify the actual needs that emerged during the interviews
4. Identification of the poor knowledge of Italian as the primary cause of marginalization of women
foreign living in Modena
5. Searching for an activity that could solve the problem of poor knowledge of Italian and motivates
women to socialize with other people..
6. Implementation of three learning activities called "At School with Mom and Dad" [(“A scuola con
mamma e papà”) one edition to be carried out at the primary school of Saliceto Panaro and two at
the primary school of Palestrina] with the planned participation of 4 children per course
(accompanied by at least one parent ). The courses were realized by ForModena in collaboration
with Città & Scuola, Comitato Genitori Saliceto, and 10° Circolo scolastico. The courses began
March 21 and ended May 31, 2014.
7. Evaluation of the results obtained (still under development)
8. Sustainability of NIM after the end of the activities funded
Results
12 families have attended training courses, 9 at the school of Saliceto Panaro, 3 at the school of Palestrina.
Mothers have actively participated in the activities, we also have achieved a significant added value on the
help of foreign children in difficulty at school to overcome the barrier created by the lack of knowledge of
the Italian language.
During the courses, foreign parents have taken note of the activities that the Comitato Genitori Saliceto
placed during the school year, and were invited to collaborate for the next year with the committee.
By the end of June, the Board of Education of the 10° Circolo scolastico will make the decision whether to
introduce in the Annual Plan of Studies (Piano dell’Offerta Formativa – POF) the courses realized during the
NIM activities.
The inclusion of the course activities of NIM in the POF, ensure the sustainability of the initiative and can
serve as stable reference point for foreign families who have children attending the 10° Circolo scolastico
schools.
Evaluation – method used, participants’ satisfaction, goals’ achievement,
problems faced/solutions found
Methods:
• Meetings with parents who have participated in the courses, which have requested continue the
activities in the next school year.
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•
Meetings with teachers who have seen a significant improvement with regard to the knowledge of
Italian the children who attended the courses.
Achievements:
• The mothers for the first time took part in school life and showed interest in the activities
that the school organizes after normal school hours.
• For some mothers it was the first real contact with social life outside the family; this
"passage" was painless because it was seen as an activity still within the family (to help the
children to learn Italian) and there were no excessive opposition from husbands
• The children had available, together with their parents, a new tool for learning the Italian
language. This tool contributes to a better integration and especially helps children to bring
out their learning ability, having the opportunity to better understand the explanations of
teachers
Problems and solutions:
Problems
In some cases the first few times presented themselves only the fathers of
the children, explaining the absence of mothers to too many commitments
with other children
The meetings were planned on Friday afternoon at the school of Saliceto, on
Saturday morning at the school Palestrina; for some families whose children
attended the school of Palestrina was impossible to attend on Saturday
Solution
Creating a nursery service
for younger children
The families were invited
and attend the course on
Friday in Saliceto
Methodology
Creation of local partnerships
Meetings with local realities that Involvement of the 10th Circolo Involvement of the Città & Scuola
the committee has considered School of Modena
Association
strategic for the success of NIM
Creation of the Committee of Management of the project
Assignment of tasks based on
Identifying the people who run Definition of the activities
the activities in the persons of
skills
Giovanni Gobbi (ForModena)
Iolanda Cavani (10° Circolo
scolastico) and Luigi Scagliarini
(Città & Scuola)
Analysis of needs
Development of a questionnaire Interviews with 30 foreign Compilation of the results and
to be used during the interviews
women
definition of activities to be
implemented
Training Courses "At school with mom and dad" (“A scuola con mamma e papà”)
of
teachers Implementation of activities in
Identification
of
families Identification
attending the courses, the members of the association Città the school buildings od Saliceto
development
of
training & Scuola who carried out the Panaro and Palestrina
programs in collaboration with lessons
Città & Scuola and teachers of 10°
Circolo scolastico
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Publicizing the activities: delivery
of the registration leaflet with the
schedule of classes for foreign
children of Saliceto Panaro and
Palestrina schools.
dissemination
Article in the local newspaper "La Final report (in preparation)
Gazzetta di Modena" with an
explanation of the activities and
objectives
sustainability
Meetings with leaders of the 10° Meeting with managers of Città &
Circolo scolastico for including “A Scuola who has already given its
scuola con mamma e papà” in the willingness to continue the
POF (currently in progress)
experience for years to come
Meetings with teachers of the 10°
Circolo scolastico to develop joint
programs to classes (currently in
progress)
Contacts and references
ForModena www.modenaformazione.it
Associazione Città & Scuola http://www.cittaescuola.it/
10° Circolo scolastico di Modena http://www.circolo10modena.it/
Recommendations
NIM must be considered as a starting point for implementing activities increasingly targeted to the
identification of new tools for the integration of foreign women in the European Union. “A scuola con
mamma e papà” offers the possibility to foreign mothers to come in contact with a "piece" of important
social life of a community and should be considered as a "springboard" to other actions that involve more
and more non-EU family life .
Future prospectives
By the end of June the 10° Circolo scolastico will decide whether to include in the POF the course “A scuola
con mamma e papà”. The Città & Scuola Association and the Comitato Genitori Saliceto have already
expressed their willingness to continue the experience made during the activities of NIM
Communication tools and networking
La Gazzetta di Modena has published an article on the activities carried out in Italy by NIM, the Comitato
Genitori Saliceto has followed the activities on its Facebook page.
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The article from "Gazzetta di Modena" 06/04/2014
"A scuola con mamma e papà"
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"A scuola con mamma e papà"
"A scuola con mamma e papà"
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"A scuola con mamma e papà" leaflet
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