COUV ACTES - Psychologie communautaire

Community Psychology: Common Values, Diverse PracticesInter-systemic agreement between family and school: acomparison between Italian and migrant adolescentsby Mara Manetti 1 , Paola Cardinali 1 & Elena Zini 1Adolescence is a critical developmental period during which individuals undergo several changes and encounternew experiences that may influence their psychological well-being. Immigrated people have to facedevelopmental tasks of identity definition, but have additional difficulties of integration.The quality of support influences the adolescent development process (Rigby, Slee & Martin, 2007): a high levelof support facilitates the acquisition of basic social skills, enhances self-esteem and perception of well-being. Alow level of support may be associated with inadequate academic performance and with a lower level of overalladjustment (Crosnoe & Elder, 2004).During the migration process family and social networks are transformed, with the possibility that perceivedemotional support decreases as a source of stress.School has been identified as a key context in young people cognitive and social growth. That is where childrenspend most of their daytime during the week and encounter national values and knowledge. School providesadolescents with opportunities to select their friends according to their affinities and multiplies encounters withother cultures, with both positive and negative outcomes (Sabatier, 2008).Supportive relationships with teachers and other school adults have been found to contribute to the socialintegration of immigrant youth and to their academic success (Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco & Todorova,2007). School staff affect students' peer relationships, shaping norms of behaviour by setting cooperative goals,discouraging competition, and creating a feeling of mutual respect (Ryan & Patrick, 2001).Students whose families are more supportive exhibit more positive attitudes toward school and more positivebehaviours (Seitsinger, Felner, Brand & Burns, 2008). Moreover the parent-adolescent relationship is associatedwith the ability of adaptation to a new social context for migrant adolescents (Liebkind & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000).A distance between adolescents and parents on cultural values is expected in immigrant families as part of thenormal developmental process (Sam & Virta, 2003).The aim of the present study is to analyze home-school system as perceived by a group of migrant adolescentsand their teachers. This complex set of ties will be studied in relation with well-being, social support and teachers’self-efficacy.Considering the importance of family and school (Bru, Murberg & Stephens, 2001) in influencing students'educational achievement, we expect a correlation between family, teachers and peer support and schoolsuccess. Moreover, in agreement with the model of partnership (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001), it is assumed1University of Genoa - Italy305