Teachers and Immigrant

Children

By: Manmeet Dhami, Marissa

O’Connor, and Irene Pagpaguitan
 Background/Rationale
 In the recent past Italy has experienced an
influx of immigrants
 Teaching styles must be adapted to meet the
needs of these immigrant children
 Considering the changing times, teachers also
need ongoing professional development
 Methods

• Interviews/Observations: Iqbal Masih School and Manin Middle

School
• Readings:
 “Current Research into Education for
Immigrants in Italy”
 “Children Crossing Borders”
 “Immigrants at the Margins”
 Teaching Styles
• Refusal: Lack of responsibility for student’s educational needs
• Inductive: Surface level attempt to meet student’s needs
without changing teaching practices. These teachers have
limited acceptance of the student; the student is seen as
somehow deficient compared to other students.
• Caring: Affectionate welcome and a protective stance towards
the student, but without an awareness of the specific linguistic
and cognitive needs of the student. The child is accepted, but
still perceived as somehow lagging behind the other students.
• Intercultural: marked by recognition of cultural, developmental,
and social differences, on which both the treatment and
educational program for the child must be based. The child is
welcomed and differences are recognized and respected.
(Current Research into Education for Immigrants in Italy)
 Attitudes Towards Immigrant Children
 Primary School (Caring, Intercultural)
 Generally positive attitude towards immigrant children
 Italian culture respects childhood
 More activities/programs available to immigrant children
 Ex. Students teaching each other about their culture,
language, sports, and dance.
 Italian language learning
Attitudes Towards Immigrant Children
 Iqbal Masih School
 Majority of teachers see the presence of immigrant
children as an opportunity for growth and learning
 Frustrated by lack of government support
 Do not support pull out programs
 Three teachers attended workshop on language
acquisition in order to better aid their students
 Attitudes Towards Immigrant Children

 Secondary (Refusal, Inductive)

 More apathetic towards immigrants in the schooling system
 Older immigrant students as well as adult immigrants are
less accepted by the Italian society
 Less opportunity to learn Italian language
 “A more serious problem emerges when older
immigrant children must be placed in classrooms
where the teacher is not accustomed to teaching
basic literacy and language skills.” (Current Research
into Education for Immigrants in Italy)
 Fewer inclusion programs
 Manin Middle School
 Practices the ‘pull out’ program
 Professional Development for
Teachers of Immigrant Children
 Lack of programs
 No incentive or motivation to attend classes
 Little funding
 Teachers must take the initiative to find and attend a class
 Classes on language acquisition at universities are available
but only a select number of teachers are chosen to attend
 Mediation programs
 Integration Migration Organization (IMO)
 Sharing immigration stories to increase understanding
(between parents, teachers, and students)
 Recommendations
• Create an incentive for teacher professional development
• Focus on Italian language learning throughout the schooling
system
• Create more inclusion and mediation programs
• National framework for schooling immigrant children
“It is hard to generalize about
that Italian approach to
working with children of
im/migrants because there is
no one Italian approach…”
(Children Crossing Borders)