Teamwork in Migrant Reception Services: Insights from an Ethnographic Study

In recent years, rising levels of forced migration have drawn growing attention to the crucial role of professionals working with young migrants and refugees. This ethnographic study examines the work practices, resources, and challenges of practitioners employed in reception services for young migrants in Italy. Drawing on the community of practice and practice-based studies traditions (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Schatzki, 2001), the study views professional work not as the execution of formal tasks but as a texture of socially organized practices through which care, education, and social inclusion are collaboratively achieved. Fieldwork was conducted at Borgo Don Bosco, an educational and social community in Rome hosting about 180 adolescents aged 16–22 each year. The dataset includes 10 ethnographic visits (35 hours of observation) and 9 narrative interviews with practitioners and service coordinators. Thematic and discursive analyses of interviews and fieldnotes first highlighted the centrality of teamwork, among other resources and work practices. Building on this insight, we conducted a systematic examination of team functions and the group repertoires that sustain them. Four main team functions emerge: (1) consolidating belonging, identity, and shared values; (2) preserving and transmitting practical knowledge; (3) enabling coordination and connectivity across boundaries; and (4) managing critical situations through collective reflection and emotional containment. Some tensions also emerge: collaborative work is time-consuming, and it may generate conflict. The study highlights the importance of investing in both formal and informal team practices as infrastructures that sustain coordination, learning, and professional identity in complex, resource-limited care contexts.