LEARNING PERFORMANCES OF UNACCOMPANIED FOREIGN MINORS: A CASE STUDY

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.