The educational challenges of Italian migrant learners in their transition to secondary schools in Gozo : a comparative study

This paper draws on research which addresses a topic of interest in recent times, given the rise in the number of migrant learners in Maltese schools, especially those originating from Italy. First, it sheds light on the educational challenges that Italian migrant learners face in their transition to state schools in Gozo (such as language barriers, the loss of Italian, participation in class, books, homework, examinations, inclusion and parental involvement) taking account of the experiences of these learners themselves, their parents, and their teachers. Secondly, it examines the support strategies that are in place to facilitate these learners’ move between two education systems, characterised by substantial differences. Thirdly, it explores similarities and differences between the Italian and the Maltese education systems to understand in what ways different education systems can favour or hinder the inclusion of these learners into local schools. This research continues to build on other local studies focusing on the inclusion of Italian migrant learners in Maltese schools (Baschiera & Caruana, 2020; Caruana & Pace, 2021; Palazzo, 2020). The results confirm that Italian migrant learners are generally well included in local schools, more so if they started schooling in Malta at a young age. However, some parents claim that their children have experienced exclusion, especially at the beginning of their transition into local schools. While teachers in general do their best to support these learners and sometimes switch to Italian when necessary, they have limited time and leeway to make further adaptations, because of an exam-oriented pedagogy that they feel constrained to adopt.