ABSTRACT

Being an immigrant mother demands both the redefinition of one’s identity as a woman and as a mother and a ‘double cultural mediation’ in children’s upbringing, between the culture of origin and that of the host country. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) are key settings to supporting the wellbeing and the integration of immigrants. This contribution presents research conducted in Italy within the international ISOTIS project (www.isotis.org). Drawing on 114 structured interviews and 12 narrative-biographical interviews, this paper analyses how Moroccan mothers described their relationship with the ECEC system, teachers, and other parents. While survey data indicated that mothers who perceived discrimination were likely to participate less, the qualitative interviews showed that the ECEC settings were generally supportive and non-discriminatory. The ECEC services’ support resulted to be a turning point in the educational and social path of children and mothers themselves. The relationship with the teacher was depicted mostly as positive and meaningful, though the Italian parents’ network seemed harder to join, unveiling a segmented experience of social inclusion and exclusion between in and out of the school context. The findings may contribute to identifying factors facilitating or hindering immigrant parents’ full inclusion and participation in the community life.

摘要

作为一名移民母亲，既需要重新定义自己作为女性和母亲的身份，也需要在孩子的成长过程中，在原籍国文化和东道国文化之间进行“双重文化中介”。幼儿教育和保育 (ECEC) 是支持移民福祉和融入社会的关键环境。本文稿介绍了在国际 ISOTIS 项目 (www.isotis.org) 内在意大利进行的研究。本文利用 114 次结构化访谈和 12 次叙事传记访谈，分析了摩洛哥母亲如何描述她们与 ECEC 系统、教师和其他父母的关系。虽然调查数据表明，感受到歧视的母亲可能较少参与，定性访谈表明，ECEC 环境总体上是支持性和非歧视性的。ECEC 服务的支持成为儿童和母亲自身教育和社会道路的转折点。与老师的关系大多被描述为积极和有意义的，尽管意大利父母的网络似乎更难加入，揭示了学校内外社会包容和排斥的分段体验。调查结果可能有助于确定促进或阻碍移民父母充分融入和参与社区生活的因素。尽管意大利家长的网络似乎更难加入，揭示了学校内外社会包容和排斥的分段体验。调查结果可能有助于确定促进或阻碍移民父母充分融入和参与社区生活的因素。尽管意大利家长的网络似乎更难加入，揭示了学校内外社会包容和排斥的分段体验。调查结果可能有助于确定促进或阻碍移民父母充分融入和参与社区生活的因素。