AHRC Diasporas, Migration and Identities
CRONEM Conference 2009
Diasporas, Migration and Identities:
Crossing Boundaries, New Directions
(University of Surrey,11-12 June2009)
Panel Topic: Policy,Immigration,Diasporas
Rosa Orlando([email protected])
Dep .of European Studies and Modern Languages
University of Bath (UK)
Abstract
Southern Europe, a region that has traditionally been an area of
emigration, has now begun to attract migrant workers from a very
diverse range of countries. Italy was amongst the first of Southern
European countries to register such a trend.
At present there are 4 million foreign citizens representing 6.7%of the
general population (Caritas 2008). This phenomenon affects also the
Italian Education System. The migrant children born in Italy and
called `second generation` represent 35% of the Italian students
corresponding to 2.2% of the whole student population (Caritas 2008).
Given the presence of this new generation it is important that the
legal framework and the Italian government’s education policy
accommodate them. Starting from an analysis of the principal
models of integration in Europe I propose to evaluate the Italian
Educational policies proposed so far and whether they follow a
recognisable model of integration, compatible and coherent with the
country’s and the EU`s constitutional principles of democracy and
citizenship as well as with the Universal Rights (1948) and the Rights
of the Child (1989).
KEYWORDS:Italy,Immigration,Education
Policy ,Second Generation.
1
An Important Challenge facing
the Italian Education System:
the integration of the second generation
Introduction
Italy has changed from a country of emigration to a
country of immigration. The immigration
phenomenon started from the mid-1970s but the
greatest influx comes after the mid 1980s (Melotti 1993;
Pugliese 1996). It has increased in Italy with particular
intensity in the period between 2002-2004, thanks to
the so-called regularisation laws (Laws n.189/2002 and
n.222/2002). At present there are 4 million foreign
citizens representing 6.7%of the general population
(Caritas 2008). This phenomenon affects also the
Italian Education system.
My question is if there is an emerging model of
integrating ethnic minorities in the Italian schools.
Starting from an analysis of the principal models of
integration in Europe I propose to evaluate the Italian
Educational policies proposed so far, whether they
follow a recognisable model of integration, e.g.
multiculturalism or assimilation and the extent to
which educational policies are compatible and
coherent with the country’s and the EU` constitutional
principles of democracy and citizenship as well as the
Universal Rights (1948) and the Rights of the Child
(1989) .
Recently in Italy the decentralisation policy in favour
of the autonomy of the Italian regions promoted by
Bassanini laws (n.59/97 and n.127/97) affected also the
Italian Education system and with the laws n.30/2000
2
and n.53/2003 we had a new reform that gave more
power to the single regions and schools.
Nevertheless the educational policies in Italy are
affected not only by local and regional variations but
also by a national policy that is not uniform and
coherent. In fact at present a political and ideological
tension between the two main coalitions parties is
affecting the debate in parliament about immigration
policies and in particular the issue of how to regulate
the immigration flux.
My hypothesis is that this political tension has a
critical impact on the Educational policies for
integration and may jeopardise the application of the
intercultural model of integration that the Italian
Ministry of Education chose in order to promote the
dialogues between different nationalities in the
school.(7) (laws n.205 -26/7/90, n.73 -2/3/94, art.36
n.40/96.).
The principal models of integration in Europe
In the post-war period, European countries such as
Germany, France and Britain have adopted policies as
a response to the presence of ethnic minority children
in their schools. These three countries have promoted
substantially different policies. Nevertheless, we have
neither a uniform European curriculum in the schools
nor a uniform policy to integrate migrants in the
educational system in Europe in terms of models of
integration and implementation (Campani1996).
Immigrant policies and integration models change
from one country to another. We have the French
assimilation model, the multicultural one in Great
Britain and the temporary migration model in
Germany. (Melotti1993).
The lack of uniformity in European Education and
integration policies depends not only on economical,
3
political, historical reasons but also on the different
development of the migratory flux in Europe.
The countries of Northern Europe had to cope with the
presence and the integration of migrant children
before the countries of Southern Europe, like Italy,
that only recently has become a country of
immigration. (Milza 1985)
Viewed through the prism of the education policy
Britain has re-imagined its community while France
has not. British Education policy was re-imagined as
schools began to support cultural pluralism and
articulate an understanding of Britain as a
multicultural country. (Swann 1985)
In Britain multiculturalism remains a widen
understood way of referring to societies whose
population is recognised as multiethnic or multiracial
(Gollnick, Donna M., Chinn, Phillip C. 2006). Britain’s
education policy has sought to widen the boundaries
of national membership to include minority cultures
as acceptable elements of Britishness. Hyphenated or
hybrid identities are admitted in the inclusive concept
of Britishness.
The school is a magnet for all communities. Cultural
and ethnic diversity are seen as positive resources.
Pragmatic solutions and mutual respect are the
equivalent skills required to cope with differences
(Schiffauer,Bauman,Kastoryano,Vertovec 2006:70).
On the other hand France has reaffirmed its cultural
boundaries through its schools, leaving little place for
ethnic minority cultures in education institutions (Van
Zanten 1997).
The French model of integration is coherent with the
Republican idea of a nation state in which the ethnic
diversities are assimilated in a unique national identity.
Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood are the main
principles of the Republican idea of the French State
(Schnapper 1991). Secularisation is another founding
4
principle of the French state that entails the
separation between public and private sphere. The
public sphere is where the republican principle of
equality has to be applied. Citizens can be different
only in the private sphere (Roy2007). The debate
concerning the headscarf affair showed how the
concept of secularisation is crucial in the public arena
(Silverman 1992). Nevertheless the recent riots in
Paris in 2005 with the explosion of the banlieues
(Stern 2008) and the events of 7/7 in London are a
clear evidence that both models have their failings
and the multiculturalism was questioned (Joppke
2004).
In Germany the Education system seems to be
working against pupils with non-German backgrounds.
The most recent PISA (Programme International
Student Assessment) study claimed that the German
education system is culturally biased and actually
discriminates against pupils with non-German
backgrounds. Indeed, there are comparatively few
children with immigrant backgrounds in Germany's
university-track high schools, called Gymnasiums.
Some vocational-track schools, on the other hand,
have become catch-alls for immigrant children (Green
Paper 2008).
The Italian School Context:
Resembling Harlequin’s costume
Analysing the statistical data published by the
Italian Ministry of Education issued in 2008 we can
state that the number of migrant children at primary
school level has tripled over the past 5 years.
At present according to the data we register
5
a remarkable presence of students born in Italy
Known as second generation Italians or new
generations (Besozzi 2007; Ambrosini e Molina
2004) and a large number of migrant students
entered for the first time in the Italian Education
system. The migrant children born in Italy represent
35%of the Italian corresponding to 2.2% of the
whole student population. (Caritas 2008)
The most represented foreign countries in Italian
schools are Romania, with Albania and Morocco
(76,217 presences, 13.28% of the whole student
population representing 44.27% of foreign students,
Caritas 2008) and a relevant presence of Roma
children attending mostly primary school. They are
the most despised and discriminated ethnic
minorities (Trentin 2006). The foreign immigrants
and their families living in Italy are distributed like a
leopard's spot. We find a social multiform tissue
similar to the Harlequin costume. Thus in Tuscany,
for instance, Livorno shows a prevalence of
Albanians, Lucca of Moroccans and in Prato the
dominant group is made up of Chinese.(Caritas
2008)This particular aspect that affects the Italian
society is peculiar to the Italian model of
immigration (Andall and King 1997).
The present literature(Portes e Rumbaut 2001;
Giovannini and Queirolo Palmas 2002; Ceccagno
2004; Colombo, Wendes 2005; Ambrosini and
Molina 2004; Sibhathu 2004,Marzulli 2007; Ricucci
2008 Queirolo Palmas 2008,) provides a clear
evidence of the increasing interest towards the
integration of the migrant children born in Italy.
In the sociology of migration Rumbaut (2001)
classifies them as second generation.
Colombo (2005) refuses this term because it
means segregating them into a separate category.
These young people were born, grow up and study
6
in this country and they behave like Italian citizens.
(Ricucci2008)
Besozzi (2007 created a new category and calls
them `nuova generazione’ without labelling their
identity with the immigration experience. The
integration of this new generation in the Education
systems is a crucial challenge for the Italian
Education policy . In the 1990s, the Italian Ministry
of Education adopted the intercultural model to
integrate the foreign students and to promote the
dialogue between different nationalities in the
schools. (7) (laws n.205 -26/7/90, n.73 -2/3/94, art.36
n.40/96).
The Circular Directive that can be considered a
milestone in the Italian intercultural education is the
Directive n. 205, issued on 22nd of July 1990 .
For the first time the Italian Education Ministry
introduced the concept of Intercultural Education in
the Italian Education System.
The term ‘multicultural education’ gained currency
in Britain and in the USA, while’ intercultural
education’ has been used more widely in
continental European literature. Leeman (2003)
explains the concept of intercultural or multicultural
education as `learning to live in an ethnically and
culturally diverse society`. Many Italian experts and
pedagogues (Demetrio 1992, Colombo and Favaro
1993 Campani 1996 Terranova 1997 Cambi 2001,
Silva 2002,Susi 2002) started to elaborate an
intercultural pedagogy to promote a model of
integration that could cope successfully with this
diversity. The two laws about Immigration in 1998
represent a reinforcement of this policy. In fact the
Consolidated Immigration Act (Testo Unico) about
Immigration Law n.40 and the Legislative Decree
(Decreto legislativo) 25/7/98 guarantee the right of
education to all irrespective of their legal status and
7
the enrolment of migrant children at any time
during the academic year. In 2002 the law n182
known as Bossi –Fini didn`t modify this procedure
of integrating foreign students .The article 9 of the
National Agreement 2002/2005 was fundamental for
the realisation of the integration policy with
financial measures to implement intercultural
projects in areas with a relevant presence of
immigrants .The content of the Directive Circular
n.24 issued in March 2006 follows the findings and
the conclusion of the Ministry `Osservatorio` (Think
tank) that in October 2007 issued a Report entitled
`The Italian way for the intercultural schools and for
the integration of foreign students’ where the
direction of intercultural education as a means for
integrating immigrant students into the Italian
mainstream society is stated at its strongest.
Schools in fact are a central place for the
construction and sharing of common rules, they
can transmit the historic, social, legal and
economic knowledge which are indispensable in
the development of social citizenship. (Ministero
dell’Istruzione dell’Università e della Ricerca 2006) .
In parallel with the approval of new legislation
concerning educational policy, Italy has undergone
a process of administrative and political
decentralisation. The so-called Bassanini laws
(n.59/97 and n.127/97) promoted a decentralisation
policy in favour of the autonomy of the Italian
regions from the central government of Rome.
This process of decentralisation has also affected
the Italian education system and with the laws
n.30/2000 and n.53/2003 we had a new reform that
gave more power to individual regions and
schools.
Futhermore there are five regions (Friuli-Venezia
Giulia, Sardegna, Sicilia,Trentino Alto Adige
8
Sudtirol and Valle d`Aosta) that have a special
status of autonomy and in some of them the
teaching of the language of the ethnic minority
living in the region is present in primary schools.
For the reasons above, there is not a uniform
application of the policies of the government.
The autonomy of schools and regions determines a
different application of this policy that not only may
vary from region to region, but may vary also from
school to school. In fact my early findings show
that in Tuscan towns traditionally governed by the
left, like Prato, Florence or Livorno, the local
institutions are more available to fund schools for
projects and activities aimed at the integration of
immigrant children. In particular in towns as Prato
and Florence a synergetic connection between
Local institutions ,Universities ,Immigrant
Associations and schools seems to provide a
successfully strategy to respond to the new
challenge facing the Italian Education system.
However, preliminary research has shown that in
other cities (which tend to be governed by the
right), schools are more reluctant to fund this kind
of projects, and follow the traditional curriculum,
without adapting it or complementing it with
intercultural activities.
More recently, the pedagogical approach adopted
by the central government changed when in
October 2008 the new Minister Roberto Cota, of the
Northern League, proposed a motion to be
integrated in the newly approved Gelmini reform.
This motion represents a turning point in
educational policy because it introduces a
different model based on the temporary separation
of the migrant child from his/her class and
establishes the compulsory enrolment of the child
by the 31st of December. The migrant pupil must
9
pass an exam to test his/her proficiency in the
Italian Language. If the child fails his/her test he/she
has to be separated from his/her class and inserted
in a separate class called `classe di inserimento`
where he/she will be taught a particular programme
involving the teaching of the Italian language and a
particular curriculum.This motion was questioned
by most of the Italian schools that refuse to apply
the new norms.
In 2010 the Ministry of Education Gelmini will put a
ceiling of 30% per class to the number of migrant
students. (Tecnica della scuola 24/03/09)
Conclusion
At present a political and ideological tension
between the two main parties coalitions is affecting
all policy domains. This tension has a critical
impact on the Educational policies for integration.
The intercultural model, in particular, is put into
question by the `temporary separation ` model
promoted by the motion of the Northern League
deputy Roberto Cota. Most of the schools in Italy
refused to apply this motion because it is in
contradiction with the circular directive n.24 of
March 2006 that established that the student spent
all his/her time at school in his/her class except for
individual projects as well as with the Directives of
the European Council entitled Integrating Immigrant
children (2004). These Directives promote an
intercultural education and identify schools as an
arena in which integration can occur with an
integrated approach inserting migrant children in
the classrooms with native speakers.
Moreover as I found in my exploratory fieldwork in
Italy, the education policies are implemented
differently from region to region and from school to
school .Hence the educational policies are not
10
uniform and are subject to local and regional
variations. The crucial challenge for Italian society
is how to integrate the new generation without
marginalizing them. We should possibly rethink a
more inclusive national identity (Grillo 2002 )with
new citizenship laws . The strategies and the
education policies adopted to implement an agreed
model of integration will be `il vero banco di
prova`(Queirolo Palmas 2006) for the Italian
Education system.
11
Policy Texts
1948- Universal Declaration of Human Right
1982 -UN Convention of the Rights of the Child
CM205/1990: Circolare Ministeriale 205, July 26, 1990.
La scuola dell’obbligo e gli alunni stranieri.
L’educazione interculturale.
http://www.iuo.it/FormazioneRicerca/OsservatorioItali
anoL2/circolare_
205_90.rtf (Accessed 20May 2009).
CM122/1992: Circolare Ministeriale, April 23, 1992.
Pronuncia del CNPI di propria iniziativa
sull’educazione interculturale nella scuola.
http://www.educational.rai.it/corsi
formazione/intercultura/strumenti/normativa/varie/rtf/c
npi_23_4_92.rtf [Accessed 15May 2009]
CM73/1994: Circolare Ministeriale, March 2, 1994.
Oggetto: Dialogo interculturale e convivenza
democratica:l’impegno progettuale della scuola.
http://www.edscuola.it/archivio/norme/circolari/cm073
_94.html (accessed 15May 2009).
(laws n.205 -26/7/90,n.73 -2/3/94,art.36 n.40/96.)
CM40/1996: Circolare Ministeriale,.
http://www.edscuola.it/archivio/norme/circolari/cm073
_94.html [Accessed 15May2009]
1998Testo Unico sull`Immigrazione L.N.40
www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/98040l.htm - 175k
(accessed 15 May 2009).
1998 Decreto legislativo Immigrazione
www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/deleghe/98286dl.htm 183k(accessed 15 May 2009).
12
CM24/2006: Circolare Ministeriale, March 1, 2006
Oggetto: Linee guida per l`accoglienza e integrazione
alumni stranieri..
http://www.edscuola.it/archivio/norme/circolari/cm073
_94.html (accessed 15May 2009).
Eurydice (2004) Integrating Immigrant Children into
Schools in Europe. European Commision
Brussels(www.eurydice.org) [Accessed 15May 2009]
Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita' e della
Ricerca (2006)Guidelines for the reception of
immigrant students on line available at
:www.istruzione.it[Accessed 15May 2009]
Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita' e della
Ricerca (2006). “Gli Alunni Stranieri nel Sistema
Scolastico Italiano A.S. 2005/06”. Roma: Direzione
Generale per gli Studi e la Programmazione e per i
Sistemi Informativi - Servizio Statistico. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.pubblica.istruzione.it/dg_studieprogramma
zione/notiziario_stranieri_0506.pdf [Accessed 15
May2009]
Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Universita' e della
Ricerca (2008). “Gli Alunni Stranieri nel Sistema
Scolastico Italiano A.S. 2007/08”. Roma: Direzione
Generale per gli Studi e la Programmazione e per i
Sistemi Informativi - Servizio Statistico. [Online]
Ministero dell`Istruzione ,dell`Universita`e della
Ricerca Laws n.30 -2000 and -n.53 200 on line
available at :www.istruzione.it[Accessed 15May 2009]
13
2008 Mozione Northern League Deputy Roberto Cota
banchedati.camera.it/sindacatoispettivo_16/showXhtml.
asp?highLight=0&idAtto=3488&stile=6 - 47k(accessed
15 May 2009).
2008-Green Paper Commission of European
Communities.www.eurydice.com. [Accessed 15May
2009]
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