Second-generation youth in Italy and their path to adulthood. Who is supporting them?

Abstract

In Italy, 9.2% of school students come from a migrant family. Of these, 55.3% were born in Italy itself. With the data revealing a situation in which these young, second-generation migrants face educational disadvantages that lead to structural inequality and social injustice, we ask: which adults are supporting them during their education? We present results from a qualitative study that, to date, has involved 25 young adults from migrant families. The data highlight the importance of primary and secondary agents of socialisation, though they more clearly decry the isolation that “differentness” brings. The institutional context (schools, job market, welfare/citizenship policies) generates unintentional segregation that leads to social exclusion. In Italy, two issues come to the fore: a) the inadequacies of the school system (curriculum, teacher training, support of L2 acquisition) and b) citizenship laws that penalise second-generation migrants.