Intercultural Education in Italy and in the United States: the Results of a Binational Inquiry

The consistency and the complexity of the migration fluxes towards Italy, their degree of stabilization, as well as the increase of migration families and the presence of first and second generations in the Italian scholastic system, require new educational policies and choices on behalf of the decision makers. The characteristics and the specificity of the migration fluxes and of the different persons and families that are oriented towards Italy, involve educational strategies that are able to combine needs and cultural models that are quite articulate. The United States, throughout its history, has also experienced similar societal transformations which continue to be the driving force to the creation of new policies that can respond to a new multicultural society. The paper presents a thorough analysis on the topics of the new educational needs expressed by new generations that live and make experiences in multi-ethnic social and scholastic contexts. Such a theme is framed within the wider context of globalization processes, of the widening of the European Union, of the presence on the territory of the Union of people and citizens originally immigrated and the questions on belonging and social cohesion. In specific, the study discuss the school policies for intercultural integration adopted in Italy and with reference to educational policies implemented in other European countries and in bilingual schools in the United States: welcoming practices for immigrant students in the schools; relationship between immigrant families and schools; practices of learning/teaching Italian as second language; promoting multilinguism approach; promoting social relation between students in the classroom, to prevent discrimination; team work between teachers; school networks; network between schools and local entities; intercultural education.