In recent years, internationally characterized by a serious concern for an increasingly unequal society, "opportunity is shaped, more than anything else, by access to education" (Stiglitz, 2012, p. 275). One of the main factors in reducing inequalities is the dissemination of knowledge that depends largely on educational policies, access to training and to the acquisition of adequate skills (Piketty, 2014) and in order to achieve a greater social equity, it is necessary to invest in education, improve its quality, promote and re-evaluate vocational training and also focus on extracurricular activities, which enable the acquisition of transversal skills and social cohesion (Atkinson, 2015; Putnam, 2016).
It is important to stress that, in addition to equal opportunities for access to education, quality education must be guaranteed: as one of the objectives of the UN Agenda 2030 states, all children, youth and adults, especially those belonging to the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, must have opportunities for education and training appropriate to their needs and the context in which they live. An inclusive school is therefore concerned about achievement and is aimed at promoting young people’s integration and participation in all spheres of society, independently of their starting differences (Declaration, I., 2015; OECD, 2015).
Although equity and inclusion are important principles in Ticino’s education system, until now more inclusion efforts have been addressed on children with physical disabilities than on those who suffer from situations of social hardship. This presentation is focused on the so-called “educational centers for minors” (ECMs), which offer educational and social aid to children who cannot count on family support because they come from multiproblematic families or whose families are going through a difficult time (deaths, divorces, organic or psychiatric illnesses of family members, etc.) or because they have no families ties at all or suffer from relational or emotional difficulties or problems related to the use of drugs or alcohol. If part of them attend the mainstream school and spend only a few hours a week in the ECMs, others live in the ECMs until they are deemed able to attend the mainstream school. The preliminary results of a research currently underway and aimed at exploring the educational opportunities of ECMs’ young guests will be presented. Students that attend these centers constitute a population that, although minority, is significant and constantly increasing. In fact, a recent administrative report indicates that both the number of guests and public spending for these institutions have more than doubled in the last 10 years. To these numbers it is necessary to add those, still hardly quantifiable, linked to the arrival of unaccompanied minors following the important migratory phenomena that are taking place in these years.