Children of Immigrants in Trento: Educational Achievement through the Lens of Friendship

During the past three decades, Italy has changed from a country of emigration to one of immigration. This has produced significant changes in the country’s social, cultural and economic structures and poses major new challenges to the education system. An important indicator of the changing situation is the increasing number of immigrant children attending Italian schools. This article presents the findings of a study conducted in upper secondary schools in Trento (a province in north-eastern Italy). The study was designed to explore the educational performance and attitudes of Italian and non-Italian students and their friendships. Data were gathered during the 2005/06 school year by means of a questionnaire distributed to 1279 students in 72 classrooms. The sample’s diverse composition allowed us to assess differences, according to ethnic background, in student attitudes towards learning as well as their scholastic performance. Finally, we looked at classroom composition in terms of foreign student numbers.