Integrazione e successo scolastico dei figli degli immigrati italiani in Germania. Uno studio basato sull'attività del Consolato Italiano di Stoccarda.

Human emigration has been in the past and will be in the future a main feature of European society. It had a profound influence on the world in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, when millions of families left their countries to settle in another. There are many reasons why people might choose to emigrate (political, economic, cultural or personal); there are also different types of migration (permanent, local, seasonal etc.). This phenomenon brings important and profound transformations that involve the social, economic and cultural order of the world.
The aim of the present work is to investigate the aspects of Italian emigration in Germany. The idea is to offer a picture of the cultural, social and linguistic situation of the Italian community in Germany. Further examination is devoted to the schooling condition of the migrant children, their integration in the selective German education system and the consequent failure, that has remained constant from the years of the first migratory waves until today, although the German Authorities and the Italian Consulate have tried to elaborate initiatives and projects to help the Italian schoolchildren, and to remedy this shortcoming.
This work consists of four chapters.
The first chapter explains the concept of migration and describes the fundamental historical stages of the Italian emigration in Germany, beginning with the unification of Italy in 1861 and ending with the 1970s, modifying completely the demographic, the economic and social structure of the peninsula and making a significant impression on Germany. Since the establishment of freedom of movement for workers between the two countries in 1961, more than 500,000 Italians have migrated to Germany for work.
The second chapter explains the social and cultural integration of Italians as emigrants in Germany. On the one hand, Italians run many businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops and food markets, and they are involved in the world of fashion and art; but on the other hand, this integration is not complete in all senses, due to the fact that they perceive their experience as temporary (they intend to return to their homeland, after they have earned enough money). In this chapter I have also analyzed the strategies they use to rearrange their lives and the strategies elaborated by the German state and the politics of immigration to promote the integration.
In the third chapter I have described and analyzed one of the causes of this lack of integration: the fact that Italian migrant children do not do well in German schools. It is important to explain the role played by the educational systems in the integration process. The German education system is described, considered as selective and responsible for the difficulties that the Italian children have encountered. Furthermore, the chapter explains the importance of bilingual education. To make their immigration a success, immigrants have to succeed in learning the language of the immigration country.
The last chapter focuses on the education politics, programs and measures of the Italian Consulate of Stuttgart, whose aim is to promote bilinguism through the teaching of the Italian language in local schools and activities such as the courses of language and Italian culture, linguistic certifications and so on.
It is essential to give migrant children opportunities to improve their performance at school in order to increase their integration in a society different from their own.