For Those Who Fall Behind: Examining Language and Cultural Valorisation Practices in Milan’s Extra-school Services

School dropout is a multifaceted phenomenon that goes beyond the extreme act of leaving school behind without getting a diploma (Besozzi, 2006). It has to do with episodes of compulsory school evasion, dropping out, repeated failures, irregular attendance, falling behind the regular age as a result of repeats, transfers and low performance (Zurla, 2004). Among those who “fall behind”, in Italy, students with migrant background are three times more at risk of dropping out of school or of living some form of school hardship. In fact, in Italy in 2020, 35.4 % of so-called 'foreign' students experienced some form of early school dropout compared to 11% of natives (ISTAT, 2021). Nevertheless, the background of the migrant does not trigger early dropout, but rather the intertwining of multiple variables which can be compiled in three groups: Socio-economic factors, such as educational level of parents (Tarabini, 2015), belonging to single-parent families (Turner, Thiede, 2018), and geographical segregation (Rothstein, 2005); causes endogenous to the school, like peer relationships (Wang, Eccles, 2012), teacher relationships (Wolley, Kol, Bowen, 2019), and school structure (Smeyers, 2006); lastly, personal variables, such as mental health (Dinh et al., 2013), lack of engagement (Rumberger, 2011), special educational needs (Johnson, Altmaier, Richman, 1999). Thus, in order to achieve a fair and equitable education, which succeeds in implementing actions to prevent school dropout, rather than “finger pointing” the migrant background of pupils, it would be desirable to implement a pedagogy of listening (Rogers, 1951), which stems from the personal experience of the children (Dewey, 1938) and values their cultural and linguistic heritage (Gibson, Bejinez, 2002; Grassi, Hanley, Liston, 2004). Given these theoretical assumptions, embedded in a transformative worldview (Mertens, 2009), this contribution aims to investigate whether and to what extent language and cultural enhancement practices have been implemented in the various extra-school services in the San Siro area. Furthermore, in order to answer the aforementioned question a qualitative method (Creswell, 2003) and an ethnographic methodology in educational contexts (Bove, 2019), hence, gathering data through participant observation, photo, and audio recordings, it has been adopted. In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of implementing language and cultural enhancement practices in extra-school services to support students' educational journeys. Moreover, by making visible the use of language and cultural valorisation in educational services, or the lack of it, the research aims to understand the challenges and successes in integrating such initiatives, so that targeted interventions to promote educational equity and reduce dropout rates among students with migrant backgrounds could be developed.