Youth, Ethnicity And School Policies: A Cross National Approach In France And In Italy

In order to guarantee the same chances of success for all students, irrespective of their origins and belonging, the management of cultural and religious pluralism is one of the most important challenges of education systems today. In the European context, France and Italy represent two interesting and even emblematic case studies because of the differences in educational policies for the reception, insertion and management of immigrants and immigrant children’s. Despite these disparities, one element which is common to these two countries is the difficulty to manage this cultural pluralism, both from an individual point of view (representations, success rates, strategies of choice of pupils but also educational teams) who could trigger mechanisms of discrimination, and from the point of view of collective actors and institutions (school policies, public and private schools, government services). The ethnic dimension is a very widespread feature in all European countries. This issue will focus on the mechanisms of social construction that pre-exist its manifestation. Ethnicity is an hetero and self- differentiation process and represents: a) a resource for change or affirmation and success; b) a constraint or obstacle that can lead to forms of discomfort, that in the most extreme cases could undermine social cohesion itself. Depending on the interactions between the individual and socio-politico-cultural processes, the ethnic question may arise both among newcomers and immigrant descendants: a) in an individual register; b) as a collective action to claim rights to difference or equality rights. The main goal for this issue is to what extent do ethnic issues and the corresponding processes of social valorization and discrimination influence the trajectories, opportunities and choices of young people in these two countries? The issue "Youth and Ethnicity" (IJSE 3-2018) aims to explore inter-ethnic relations among young people in France and Italy. By 10 contributions about empirical analyzes and theoretical reflections specifics to sociology of education, particular attention will be devoted to the fields of school, family, professional integration and friendly (peer) relations. Our aim is to shed light on the interrelationship between the ethnic issue or the experience of emigration and the processes of social participation which characterize young people and, in particular, the schools. The challenge is to grasp the role played by ethnicity as a socially constructed process within the mechanisms that can lead to the success or failure of youth projects and ambitions. The selection of contributions will also be attentive to the analytical contexts in order to facilitate the comparative approach that characterizes this issue. Contributors are invited to send to send abstracts on the following topics: - • ethnic differences in school (success, peer relationships, violence and bullying); • distribution of the training and working opportunities of young natives and of immigrant origin to comparison (inequality, discrimination, etc.); • the effects of multiculturalism on the teaching body, and, more generally, on school organization (de-segregation policies, school curricula, teacher training, etc.) • impacts of ethnic belonging on educational choices and management of school or juvenile discomfort.

Il Numero monografico “Youth and Ethnicity” (IJSE 3-2018) intende esplorare le relazioni interetniche nel mondo giovanile in Italia e in Francia, con riguardo a scuola, famiglia, transizione al lavoro e ambienti dei pari, raccogliendo massimo 10 contributi di ricerca o di analisi teorica in sociologia dell’educazione, focalizzati sull’intreccio tra variabile etnica o esperienza migratoria e processi di crescita. La selezione avverrà anche sulla base dell’area di studio, Italia, Francia (o entrambe) per facilitare la comparazione equilibrata tra i due Paesi. Gli autori sono chiamati a inviare abstract sui seguenti temi: • differenze etniche a scuola (riuscita, relazioni tra pari, conflitti e bullismo); • distribuzione delle opportunità formative e lavorative dei giovani nativi e di origine immigrata a confronto (ineguaglianza, discriminazione ecc.); • effetti della multiculturalità sul corpo docente, e, più in generale, sull’organizzazione scolastica (politiche di de-segregazione, curricolo scolastico, formazione dei docenti, ecc.); • impatti delle culture etniche su scelte formative e gestione del disagio scolastico o giovanile.