''Fare gli italiani'': citizenship education and the difficult pathway from migrants to citizens

Citizenship identity is regarded as a factor strengthening loyalty towards a State, thereby increasing participation in the public sphere and constructive engagement to improve social and political life. Therefore, at the end of the thesis, it will be stressed that there is not only one theoretical framework for teaching citizenship identity. By contrast, two main strategies will be highlighted, first considering a wider European level and thereafter focusing on a national - and even local - context. [...]
Now, let’s outline this essay structure. In Chapter One, the definition, importance and positive impacts of migrants’ integration in Europe will be discussed. Chapter One will also attempt to make a distinction between the common perceptions about migrants – as fostered by media and politicians- and the migration real effects. In the last section, the role of the educational institutions in supporting and influencing the integration path will be explained, especially in the light of the European Union’s framework.
Chapter Two will provide a definition of citizenship and its main dimensions, especially the juridical and the moral dimensions. The link between citizenship education and migrants’ integration will be outlined too. Thereafter, based on the ICCS analysis and its findings, the main strategies to implement citizenship education will be illustrated. An interesting point emerging will be that whilst there are available three main approaches to citizenship juridical education, there is not a single theoretical framework for teaching citizenship identity. Therefore, the French and British citizenship education strategies will be taken as reference models: these are education about citizenship and education through citizenship, respectively.
Chapter Three will be centered on the Italian case. Namely, why integration matters in the country’ scenario; the Italian integration «no model» (Guolo 2009, p.4); and the promotion of citizenship identity. Finally, Chapter Four will be particularly linked to Chapter Three.
Indeed, it will describe two local and regional education experiences of «Cittadinanza e Costituzione» in two Italian towns, Vicenza and Padua.
The focus will be on primary (Padua) and middle schools (Vicenza). Starting from these experiences, a reflection will be made about which common elements (shared rights, values or others) can be possibly used in the long period to create citizenship identity and sense of identity – such element to belong to natives and migrant students alike.