Newly Arrived Adult Migrants_Educational Challenges for Iinclusion Policies

The migratory process has been significantly affecting Italy for more than 30 years, but still the policies coping with of the phenomenon appear problematic, not to say inconsistent. The normative regulations still result in a political debate stubbornly encrusted on the ‘accepting versus rejecting’ dilemma, as if such a pervasive macro sociological process might be managed simply relying on an ‘on/off’ entry mechanism. A presence so massive and so relevant deserves a different reflection and appropriate policies capable to actively value migrant’s contribution to a pluralistic society. The lack of policies oriented for example to the enhancement of the native languages of migrants in conjunction with the learning of the Italian language has meant that integration has been declined, at best, in a very minimal and scattered inclusion, downplaying the educational resources of those who enter Italy with specific human capital coupled with specific training needs in relation to welfare services. I here intend to present and discuss preliminary outcomes from a local research on the living conditions of third countries adult nationals hosted at reception facilities in the province of Viterbo and surveyed by local authorities via a questionnaire. The questionnaire is part of the more complex research programme covering both the census of local social services, NGO and associations working in close touch with the migrant population and the mapping of native young people attitudes towards migrants. The hypothesis that has guided the research concerns the suspicion that foreigners constitute a human capital not fully recognized and appreciated especially in the primal steps after their arrival.