Unaccompanied Foreign Minors of the Balkan Route: The Inclusive Education Ecosystem within a Boarding Institution at the Gates of Gorizia

Introduction Learning ecosystems aim to tackle complex educational systems by looking at the interaction between different layers of agency in a way similar to that of ecological studies. In this regard, the condition of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors poses a challenge: although certain aspects enjoy a transcultural character, most interventions are framed by ideologies, policies, and intentional stances that vary widely across the different European regions as well as according to the origin of migrants (see, e.g., Jordan & Moser, 2020). This contribution will illustrate the case of the San Luigi Boarding Facility in Gorizia (Italy), which hosts up to 115 Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (27 short-stays and 88 long-stays) that usually cross the border following the Balkan Route (Salerno & Casasola, 2022). Methodology The inquiry follows a qualitative approach that involves policy documents collection and analysis, data gathering from participant observers, and interviews with Unaccompanied Foreign Minors hosted at the facility. Interviews will involve: one regional policymaker, three members of the management team, five staff members (educators and “house parents”) and ten minors. Qualitative coding will entail the reconstruction of the so-called “learning ecosystem”. The latter was pioneered by Toutain et al. (2019) in their research on entrepreneurship education, but this study will adapt it to interventions for the inclusion of foreign minors and ways to tackle their social vulnerabilities (Minello. 2012). Expected results Results shall vary according to the degree of alignment detected between regional policies, the management of the facility itself, and the effectiveness of educational interventions. In particular, it will be shown how regional and national policies constrain “parental action” on behalf of educators, thus reducing their ability to prevent current and future exploitation of the vulnerabilities of the minors they are in charge of. The investigation will also identify good practices to counter such lack of alignment between policies and field action. Discussion Conference debate could bear on the transferability of results. Are the good practices valid only within their local context of development or could they apply to other settings as well? In turn, this could lead to reflections on the opportunity to create supranational channels to exchange ideas between educational practitioners that work with Unaccompanied Foreign Minors. References Jordan, J., & Moser, S. (2020). Researching migrants in informal transit camps along the Balkan Route: Reflections on volunteer activism, access, and reciprocity. AREA, 52(3), 566–574. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12614 Mancini, A., & Tarozzi, A. (2020). The Paths of Hope: Forced Migrations to Italy along the Balkan Route between Reception and Refoulement. In M. Mirabelli, N. Brasil Dib, S. Mihelčič (Eds.), Digitalization, Economic Development and Social Equality: Turbulent Convergence (pp. 2–24). Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Minello, R. (2012). Educare al Tempo della Crisi. Pensa MultiMedia. Salerno, V., & Casasola, G. (2022). The Individualized Education Plan applied in the context of parental education: A case study in Friuli Venezia Giulia. QTimes, 14(1), 357–370. https://doi.org/10.14668/QTimes_14128 Toutain, O., Mueller, S., & Bornard, F. (2019). Decoding Entrepreneurship Education Ecosystems (EEE): A Cross-European Study in Primary, Secondary Schools and Vocational Training. Management international / International Management / Gestiòn Internacional, 23(5), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.7202/1066711ar