The presence of immigrant students in the Italian school system is now an established reality. Several international and national surveys have highlighted the performance gap between immigrant and non-immigrant students. Underachievement, dropout rates, and ineffective schools are unsolved issues for Italy. The school systems could play a central role in the promotion of authentic intercultural integration, designing real paths towards academic success for all pupils. This paper reports the main results of an Action Research project, conducted from 2011 to 2014 in an Italian middle school with a high proportion (>30%) of students from immigrant backgrounds and/or at risk of dropping out. What are the goals of this longitudinal study? To encourage regular school attendance and to reduce dropout rates through an experimental integration year between middle and high school, combined with innovative, active teaching methodologies. The presentation highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each stage of the process. It focuses on time, space, teaching strategies, and on relationships with parents, other classes in the school and on the school network.

Designing, redesigning and implementing: how to reduce dropout rates in an Italian multicultural middle school

Malusà, Giovanna
2016-01-01

Abstract

The presence of immigrant students in the Italian school system is now an established reality. Several international and national surveys have highlighted the performance gap between immigrant and non-immigrant students. Underachievement, dropout rates, and ineffective schools are unsolved issues for Italy. The school systems could play a central role in the promotion of authentic intercultural integration, designing real paths towards academic success for all pupils. This paper reports the main results of an Action Research project, conducted from 2011 to 2014 in an Italian middle school with a high proportion (>30%) of students from immigrant backgrounds and/or at risk of dropping out. What are the goals of this longitudinal study? To encourage regular school attendance and to reduce dropout rates through an experimental integration year between middle and high school, combined with innovative, active teaching methodologies. The presentation highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each stage of the process. It focuses on time, space, teaching strategies, and on relationships with parents, other classes in the school and on the school network.
2016
International Conference on Education and New Developments. 12-14 June, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Proceeding
Lisbon, Portugal
World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS)
978-989-99389-8-4
Malusà, Giovanna
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/146464
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