Adoption and Foster Care: Analysis, Reflections and Best practice on Equality and Social Justice at School and in the Educational System

Adoption and foster care are institutions designed to provide children with a family environment and a positive context for growth (Law184/1983). Research shows that the placement of the child in adoptive families or foster care is a measure of protection and recovery. Inparticular, several comparative studies analyse the development of children who have been adopted or are in foster care and thedevelopment of children who are growing up in institutional care (Juffer, van IJzendoorn, 2007). For those placed in families, there isconsiderable progress and an extraordinary ability to cope with unfavourable early experiences. While numerous studies have investigated the behavioural and emotional adjustment of children in foster care and adoption, little is knownabout their educational needs and paths (Stother at al., 2019). International research identifies the potential vulnerability of these childrenin terms of learning, especially in unsupportive and less responsive school contexts (Coggi, Ricchiardi, 2016; Sempowicz et al., 2018;Dalen, Theie, 2019; Dalenat al., 2020; Glennen, 2021). At the same time, Children frequently experience developmental delays because ofearly adverse circumstances and long periods of institutionalisation (Lauretti, 2020; Harwood et al., 2013). The scientific literature also notes how frequently children in foster care and adoption incur episodes of discrimination and microaggression(Ferritti, Guerrieri, 2019, 2020; Baden, 2016; Garber, Grotevant, 2015; Sue et al., 2007), which in turn can cause marginalisation(Migliarini, Stinson, D’Alessio 2019), educational failures (Ferritti et al., 2019, 2020, 2021; Ferritti, 2023) and social exclusion (Morgan,Langrehr, 2019). This suggests that the overall Italian school system is often unsupportive and little inclusive, and is poorly equipped tocope with the students’ educational special needs, and favour their inclusion and achievement by a ‘student-centered approach’(Balenzano, 2023). However, adjustment and social inclusion are linked to the capacity of the local community and school to welcomechildren and promote their aspirations, significantly affecting their identity (Sempowicz et al., 2018). The paper's purpose is to deepen the theme of equality and social justice in the educational system from a multidisciplinary perspectiveand to explore best practices for facing inequality, stigma, and educational poverty. It is proposed to dwell on some elements that can offerstimuli to start a process of analysis and deconstruction of reality and start new narratives and cultural perspectives.