Learning performances of unaccompanied foreign minors: a case study

Abstract

The reception paths offered for unaccompanied foreign minors (UFMs)
in the destination country are fundamental to acquiring the tools to enter the world
of work and, more generally, build a new life, particularly the possibility of quickly
learning the native language and dedicating oneself profitably to study and training.
Starting from this consideration, we investigated the learning paths of the UFMs
hosted by the Municipality of Milan. We identified the determinants for their
successful performance by acquiring information from the minors and the operators
who had them in charge. The analyses showed that staying in the reception
pathway and the backgrounds of the UFMs are equally relevant to achieve positive
performances. On the one hand, although many UFMs dropped out of the more
structured educational pathways (CPIA and school), legal and relational inclusion
impact significantly; on the other hand, the origin, the approval or otherwise of the
parents to migrate, and the years of study in the country of origin are just as
important to have educational results.