School approach to immigration and social inclusion in Prato

Contribution by:Stefano Gestri, PhD, HeadmasterLiceo Scientifico “N. Copernico”, Prato

Prato, 23-09-2016

Table of contents

� Immigration in Tuscany� Prato’s multicultural landscape� The second generation� The second generation� Success, failure and early leaving� Prato’s approach to interculture� Peer education at L.S. Copernico� The project “Tutorare per accogliere”� The project “Diversamente”� Writing competitions� Study groups� “Azione MIPS” (“Mi Impegno Per il Successo”)� Projects for teaching L2 Italian to the parents� “Circoli di studio”� References

Non-Italian students in Tuscany (I)

� In the school year 2014-15 the non-Italian students in Tuscany were 12.6% of the total numberwere 12.6% of the total number

� In Prato and Florence, in the primary and in the lower secondary school, this number was 26%

� In Tuscany about 49% (70% in the primary school…) of the non-Italian students was born in Italy

Non-Italian students in Tuscany (II)

Non-Italian students in Tuscany (III)

Prato’s multicultural landscape (I)

� In the school year 2014-15 in Prato 23.3% of the students was not Italian (against the national data (against the national data 9.2%), making it the Province (but also the Municipality) with the largest non-Italian school population, followed by Piacenza (20.9%)

� In primary and lower secondary school the percentages were bigger, respectively 37.9% and 26%, reaching in one Institute 67.2%

Prato’s multicultural landscape (II)

• In the upper secondary school the data was 17.1%

• The non-Italian students were 24.2% in the vocational 24.2% in the vocational schools, 20.6% in the technical schools and 11.8% in the Licei

• In the school year 2015-16 in Prato 24.3% of the students was not Italian

• In L.S. “Copernico” the non-Italian students were 10% (against 3% in the 2008) - 2/3 of it female

Prato’s multicultural landscape (III)

� In June 2015 Prato's schools included students of 85 different nationalities

The second generation (I)

� In the school year 2015-16, 71.9% (ranging from 95% in the kindergarten school to 52.2% in the 95% in the kindergarten school to 52.2% in the upper secondary school) of non-Italian pupils in Prato was born in Italy

� This made Prato the first province for numbers of non-Italian pupils born in Italy, followed by Vicenza, Biella and Verona

� The non-Italian students born in our Country became the most relevant part (51,7%) at the end of 2013

The second generation (II)

Success, failure and early leaving (I)

Success, failure and early leaving (II)

� A group of students born between 1991 and � A group of students born between 1991 and 1994 have been monitored by the School Observatory of the Province

� Among the Italian students the early school leavers were 11.4%; while the foreign-born early school leavers were 52.5%

Prato’s approach to interculture: the role of the school

� Local governments and schools of every grade and type have agreed upon a protocol (lately named SIC – Scuola Integra agreed upon a protocol (lately named SIC – Scuola Integra Culture) dating back to 2007 and aimed to: maintain cultural diversity (that is always a resource for society), prevent school drop out, share best practices in vertical and horizontal continuity

� Key actions: acceptance procedure, teaching of Italian as L2 (at both BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills - and CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency - levels), training of school staff, developing active citizenship

Peer education at L.S. Copernico: the «Banca del tempo»

�It is a form of remedial education based on cross-age tutoring. Older pupils, both Italian and non-age tutoring. Older pupils, both Italian and non-Italian, tutor younger pupils in order to support motivation to learn and improve achievement�Takes place in the afternoon once a week�Pupils organise their activities in complete autonomy coordinated by a teacher�This model, in operation for 7 years, has been used as cornerstone for the devising of the project “Tutorare per Accogliere”

Non-Italian tutors in liceo Copernico

�In L.S. Copernico such students have been successfully employed since 2009

Pilot project (school year 2013 -14) “Tutorare per accogliere” (I)

�Joint project among Istituto Comprensivo Nord, I.C. “P. Mascagni”, I.P.S.S.C.T.S.P. “F. Datini”, I.S.I.S. “A. “P. Mascagni”, I.P.S.S.C.T.S.P. “F. Datini”, I.S.I.S. “A. Gramsci-J. M. Keynes”, L.S. “N. Copernico”:

– 2 primary schools– 2 lower secondary schools– 3 upper secondary schools

�Project financed by the Province, that organized monitoring and dissemination meetings (with certificates of attendance for the students), and realized a 20 minutes video

Pilot project (school year 2013 -14) “Tutorare per accogliere” (II)

� High achievers belonging to the largest ethnic groups with good social skills and linguistic competence both in Italian L2 and in social skills and linguistic competence both in Italian L2 and in their mother tongue were selected (42 persons)

� The peer tutors were required to attend training sessions (held by a cultural mediator, a psychologist and a coordinator teacher) to gain a minimum of 5 hours tutoring practice

� In the Upper Secondary School the peer tutors attended more training sessions, in order to guarantee a complete access of the tutored pupils (approximatively 300 in the liceo Copernico) to the school life and curriculum

Developments of the project

� In the school year 2014-15 each Institute implemented the same project using their own financial resourcessame project using their own financial resources

� In the past school year, the project, named “Studenti tutor mediatori in azione”, financially supported by the Province, was disseminated in all upper secondary schools of Prato

� In L.S. “N. Copernico” a new version of the project is still operating: one Italian and one non-Italian tutor of each fourth class are involved in the acceptance activities of the students of the first classes

The project “Diversa mente”

� In the school year 2007-08, in collaboration with the in collaboration with the Province, a new project (“Diversamente”) started at liceo Copernico consisting in meetings with classes of other schools and with leaders of various religions (Islamism, Buddhism, Judaism), and visits to several buildings of cult

Writing competitions

� In the school years 2010-11 and 2011-12 several non-Italian student of the liceo Copernico were involved in the literary competition “La città vista e vissuta dai pratesi di seconda generazione”: they described themselves and the city according to their own special perspective

Study groups

In the school year 2011-12 in liceo Copernico a group of both � In the school year 2011-12 in liceo Copernico a group of both Italian and non-Italian students named “Sole, aria, terra, uomo” met once a week to discuss topics related to personal identity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability

� In the school year 2014-15 a similar group of more than 20 female students aged 16-19 (in many cases of second or third generation) met regularly to compare and discuss marriage according to the tradition of their countries

“Azione MIPS” (since June 2010)

� Letters to lower secondary schools in order to meet the non-Italian students that had to meet the non-Italian students that had chosen the liceo Copernico

� Meeting with teachers and non-Italian young tutors; Italian test at CALP level; support to the parents

� Activation of Italian L2 courses before the beginning of the school

� Involvement of Coordinating Teachers of the classes including non-Italian students

Projects for teaching L2 Italian to the parents

� Since 2011 liceo Copernico have partecipated to partecipated to projects of non-Italian adults education, most of them in collaboration with the Province and with the CTP - Centro Territoriale Permanente (“Genitori insieme”, “Migranti insieme” and others)

“Circoli di studio”

� In the school year 2012-13 a � In the school year 2012-13 a new activity started: a group of Italian and non-Italian parents met for 3 hours every 2 weeks to discuss, with the guidance of a teacher, topics related to education and integration

References

� Costituzione, art. 10

� D. Lgs. 286/1998

� Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Council of Europe, 2001

� Peer educators in classroom D. Lgs. 286/1998� D.P.R. 394/1999

� La via italiana all’intercultura -Le azioni per l'integrazione degli alunni stranieri (23-10-2007)

� C.M. 2/2010� Linee guida per l’accoglienza e

l’integrazione degli alunni stranieri (19-02-2014)

� Peer educators in classroom settings: effective academic partners, by Julie E. Owen, in: New directions for student services, Special issue: Emerging issues and practices in peer education, Volume 2011, Issue 133, Pages 55–64, Spring 2011

� Peer mentorship in high school: a comprehensive guide to implementing a successful peer mentorship program in your school, by Jose A. Aviles Ed D., Tate publishing, August 26, 2014

Acknowledgements

� Prato Province, for statistical data

� Dr. Saura Lascialfari (L.S. “N. Copernico”), for technical support

� Dr. Assunta Nappi (L.S. “N. Copernico”), for technical support

Thank you for your attention

stefano.gestri@istruzione.ithttp://www.copernico.prato.it