Enhancing Human Capital in Education Systems to Counter Racial Injustice

• In Event: Constructing Possibilities for Equal and Inclusive Education

Abstract

Although - for several years now - we have been living in an increasingly multicultural society, many of the current social constructs of categories and social class designations continue to be determined by racist orientations.
Focusing on the Italian situation, one alarm is the lack of occupational mobility for people of foreign origin, even after many years of employment and high educational credentials.
If the first generations of migrants seem to be inevitably employed in the so-called 'three D's' occupations - dirty, dangerous and demeaning - the question of how to avoid the same labour destiny for their children arises with urgency.
Adopting the perspective of diversity management, it becomes crucial to reflect on those factors that can affect the construction of human and cultural capital of so-called second generations.
The contribution intends to adopt a perspective that critically analyses the dimensions that most influence access to highly qualified educational pathways. The transition phase from secondary to tertiary education and/or to work is a central junction in the careers of young citizens, and it represents a privileged observation point for identifying the elements that most affect the types of careers undertaken. The whole issue is probably even more relevant for those of foreign origin: analysing the resources and obstacles that affect post-diploma pathways provides valuable information on the opportunities available to the immigrant descendants.
Starting from qualitative research that investigated - through 22 in-depth interviews - the presence of professional trajectories that lead young children of immigrants to occupy positions belonging to the middle classes, the contribution places these empirical findings in dialogue with the social work perspective. The contribution focuses on the dimensions that appear to be most significant: family of origin, teachers and social capital. It reflects on the key functions that social workers could perform to support inclusion processes, highlighting their role in actions aimed at structural change and policy practice - that function includes all those actions aimed at proposing and influencing social policies to achieve the goal of social justice.
Taking into consideration the social work perspective, we would like to propose some reflections that start from the function of social referencing, from the position of privileged observer of the social needs of a community and the role it assumes in the orientation processes of policy decisions. The intention is to highlight those areas of intervention in which the social work could act, influencing practices of relevant actors at a local level.
Furthermore, the contribution intends to overcome the perspective that sees in the paths of those of foreign origin the sole effect of ethno-cultural determinants, while reflecting on the implications of the "mirror function" played by migration. The investigation of the dynamics involving second generations provides a reflection of the host societies, helping to grasp their criticalities and problems with greater precision: a decisive support in the complex task of designing interventions that can counteract the structural inequalities in which large swathes of the population are trapped, regardless of their origins.

Authors

• Giulia Marroccoli, University of Turin

• Carlotta Mozzone, University of Turin