Unaccompanied Minors: Exploring Needs and Resources to Plan Socio-educational Programs into School Settings

The phenomenon of minors who arrive in a foreign land without accompanying adults has been more and more widespread during recent years. The school environment provides a particularly significant context for the integration of unaccompanied minors. The focus of this paper is an evaluation of educational projects which have been designed and operated for the reception of unaccompanied minors in a series of Italian schools. Through a survey, in-field observations, and semi-structured interviews, the paper explores the needs and resources of unaccompanied minors. In the conclusions, strategies to improve programs aimed at unaccompanied minors are provided.