This study examines the systemic and individual vulnerabilities of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFM), the Italian reception system, and educators, highlighting their impact on educational pathways and social integration. Conducted between 2022 and 2024 along the Balkan route, the research employs Constructivist Grounded Theory and was supervised by an international team of experts. It took place in several reception communities in Northern Italy, using a qualitative approach that included interviews with internal and external operators, discussion sessions with educators and UFM, and a critical analysis of experiences, data, and documents provided by the reception communities. The main themes analyzed focus on psychological support, school, work, and sports integration, educator turnover, and the effectiveness of reception policies (Salerno, 2024a; Salerno, 2024b).

The vulnerabilities identified reveal a web of obstacles that undermine the educational effectiveness of proposed pathways and limit minors' opportunities for autonomy and social integration (Salerno, 2024b). UFM often arrive with a background of traumatic experiences that remain unaddressed, partly due to the lack of professionals with psychological and intercultural skills (UNICEF, 2020). These traumas, combined with language barriers and the absence of flexible educational pathways, result in emotional and social instability (Terzera & Dalla Zuanna, 2024). Poor proficiency in Italian, coupled with the lack of specific language-learning programs, slows their academic and social adaptation (Olmos-Gómez et al., 2022). Moreover, traditional educational pathways do not meet their needs: driven by the urgency to achieve autonomy quickly, minors often drop out of school to engage in informal or illegal activities, increasing the risk of marginalization (Cassagnes & Lebret, 2023).

The reception system contributes to these challenges with a contradictory approach: on the one hand, it overprotects minors, denying them opportunities for empowerment; on the other hand, it imposes bureaucratic barriers that slow access to fundamental rights such as education and healthcare (Barberio & Valtimora, 2023). These structural limitations hinder the development of personalized educational pathways, leaving UFM in a state of stagnation that obstructs their personal and social growth. Administrative inefficiencies and the fragmentation of reception policies further exacerbate these issues (Guentner & van der Veen, 2022).

Educators, who play a central role in supporting UFM, operate in a work environment marked by chronic stress, intense shifts, and a lack of emotional support (Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2023; Salerno, 2024a). Inadequate working conditions, combined with the absence of professional growth opportunities and high turnover rates, deprive minors of stable role models, which are essential for their educational and integration pathways (Oplatka, 2020). This context reduces the system's ability to provide effective and continuous support (Cassagnes et al., 2023).

The educational repercussions of these vulnerabilities are significant: UFM not only struggle to complete their academic or training pathways but are also deprived of the skills needed to build an autonomous future and fully integrate into society (Portera, 2020). This exclusion traps them in a cycle of dependency on the reception system, denying them the opportunity for emancipation (Fondazione ISMU, 2024).

Transforming these vulnerabilities into opportunities requires targeted actions. Flexible educational pathways must be created to address the specific needs of UFM, integrating psychological and linguistic support (Portera, 2020). The reception system needs to become more streamlined and personalized, ensuring quick access to fundamental rights and pathways for empowerment (Biesta, 2021; Salerno, 2024b). Moreover, valuing educators by improving their working conditions, offering continuous training, and recognizing their crucial role is essential to building a resilient system (Day & Gu, 2020; Salerno, 2024a).

The research focused on several reception communities located in Northern Italy along the Balkan route, significant contexts for the phenomenon of UFM (Salerno, 2024a; Salerno, 2024b), and employed a qualitative approach based on Constructivist Grounded Theory (GT) (Charmaz, 2014). The application of GT in the study followed a rigorous and systematic process aimed at building knowledge from the data collected in the field, using an inductive and iterative approach. GT, in this context, guided all stages of the research, from data collection to analysis, allowing for the development of theories rooted in the direct experiences of participants and the realities observed in the reception communities.I dati sono stati raccolti tra il 2022 e il 2024 attraverso diversi strumenti: 1. Individual interviews with: • 35 educators and 5 coordinators from 5 reception communities for UFM. • 10 teachers. • 7 volunteer guardians. • 13 representatives from institutions (Juvenile Court, Police, Immigration Office, Social Services, Health Authority). • 10 UFM and 10 young adults who had completed their pathway in reception communities. 2. Working groups: • 14 focus groups with educational teams. • 20 discussion sessions among operators from different communities. • 10 thematic roundtables with operators, institutions, and local services. 3. Collective Biography Writing (Davis & Gannon, 2006b): • A document prepared by the team of a reception community describing the specific educational practices implemented by educators in their work with UFM. 4. Ethnographic data and document analysis: • Analysis of 25 videos, 300 minutes of recordings, 1,000 internal reports, 1,000 official documents, 70 photos, 80 team chats, and local policies on education, work, and sports. 5. Memoing and field observations (Bryant & Charmaz, 2007): • Continuous annotations and direct and indirect observations in the studied contexts. The data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) and highlighted several key themes, including psychological support for UFM, pathways for educational, work, and sports integration, educator turnover, and the consistency between policies and practices adopted in various contexts. The triangulation of the collected data ensured the validity of the results. The adopted approach proved particularly useful in understanding the complex dynamics of reception systems and in proposing targeted interventions aimed at improving the entire educational ecosystem.

The research findings highlight that untreated trauma, language barriers, and the rigidity of educational pathways are significant obstacles to the integration of UFM. The Italian reception system, while promoting strong child protection, often fails to provide pathways for empowerment and autonomy. This approach, combined with bureaucratic inefficiencies and a lack of flexibility in integration pathways, severely limits the educational and social opportunities of UFM, leaving them trapped in a cycle of marginalization. Another critical issue concerns the condition of professional educators, who are central to supporting minors but work under conditions that undermine their effectiveness. Stress, lack of specialized training, and high staff turnover create instability, reducing the quality and continuity of educational interventions. To address these challenges, a paradigm shift is needed in educational policies and reception systems. Firstly, educational pathways must become more flexible and adaptable, taking into account the diverse migratory experiences of UFM and offering personalized support tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, bureaucratic simplification is essential to ensure swift access to fundamental rights, such as education and employment. A central role must also be given to the recognition and support of educators through improved working conditions, targeted training, and career development opportunities. These interventions are crucial to ensuring a stable and qualified support network capable of addressing the complexities of migration. Only through a coordinated approach involving all stakeholders in the system can the current obstacles be overcome, fostering genuine educational and social inclusion for UFM.

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