The educational and formative potential of multilingual digital storytelling: a study in a culturally diverse primary school in Italy

In the last decade, Digital Storytelling (DS) has increasingly emerged as a powerful teaching and learning tool for both teachers and students, and many scholars have documented its educational, multilayered value. Becoming authors of digital stories that combine several types of media contributes to enhancing students’ motivation, engagement and creativity; it helps pupils exercise critical thinking and problem-solving competences; it encourages children to organize and express their ideas in a personally meaningful way. When DS is integrated within the curriculum, it increases students’ critical understanding of curricular contents and provides a strong foundation for 21st Century skills. Furthermore, the creation of digital stories in small groups encourages interaction and communication among peers, it supports the exchange of different points of view and it enhances cooperation, social cohesion and inclusion. However, only a few studies have explored the specific opportunities that DS tools can provide when applied in culturally and linguistically diverse school contexts, not only as a means to develop the multilingual and intercultural competences that represent an essential part of 21st Century skills; but also as a valuable tool to increase students’ and teachers’ cultural and linguistic awareness, valorise multilingualism as a resource and reduce prejudice. The present paper, set within the EU-funded international project ISOTIS (Inclusive Education and Social Support to Tackle Inequalities in Society – http://www.isotis.org/), aims to address this gap. It presents the implementation of Multilingual Digital Storytelling activities in two primary school classes in a highly culturally and socially diverse school in Italy. The study was conducted within a qualitative and phenomenological research paradigm. Data was collected through field observations in the classrooms and focus-group interviews with children, teachers and parents. The paper will discuss the educational and formative impact of this experience on children, teachers and parents.