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TopBackground
The co-existence of particular social phenomena, inside a territory which has not wide proportions, as Calabria and, more generally, the South of Italy do not have, causes a remarkable educational inequality in a framework which is already poor from an economic point of view, thus facilitating the birth of processes of cultural and social exclusion which mostly concern the new generations (Calì, 2014).
Such situations highlight how in the school new differences are looming. These differences are produced not only by the greater or minor capacity of control, the mastery or not of cultural resources, the quality of the relational resources, the exposure to processes of social decay, the level of social vulnerability, but also by the place of residence of the Youth in territories, which are economically poor and socially isolated. In these territories some families, with scarce economic resources, cannot grant the technological and information tools “necessary” for a kind of essential training to their children. The Calabrian school lives a dual situation: on the one hand, there are the cities and the biggest towns which offer wide opportunities to the Youth to access to the technology, in order, for them, to learn and study in a cosmopolitan dimension. To the other hand, there are some wide areas of the territory, defined as areas “at a high risk of migration and social exclusion” (Council Recommendation on policies to reduce early school leaving, 2011), which preclude the Youth from having the possibility to access to knowledge.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Social Distress in Schools (School Distress): Distress is a topic of research in education and psychology and is a condition linked to the subjective perceptions of unhappiness (distress in “felt,” but not necessarily “visible”). It refers to an emotional state that has no significant link to any kind of disorder, whether psychopathic, linguistic or cognitive. This kind of distress manifests as a rejection of all school activities, to the point that it hinders the student’s use and development of his/her cognitive, affective and relation abilities.
Artifacts: An artifact is a tool or a sign, which is used by human beings as a mediation between the human subjective dimension and the external dimension of reality.
Dropping Out: Leaving school either for practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the educational institution.
Italian State Statistics Institute (ISTAT): An Italian state research body, the activities of which are: the censuses of population, agriculture, economic censuses, the censuses of industry and services and the censuses of families.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT): This term is used to include technological devices such as desktop and laptop computers, software and the many Internet services and applications like instant messaging, emailing, radio television, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as video-conferencing and distance learning.
Digital Divide: Divide that exists between the group who has access to the information technology, in particular computers and Internet, and those who do not have, partially or totally, ability to use them.
Digital Native: A new technology-savvy generation.
Meta-Cognitive: Meta-cognitive knowledge involves the knowledge about cognition in general, as well as the awareness of and knowledge about one’s own cognition.
Education: A general process and state. The schooling process is the process during which a person reaches a certain level of knowledge according to the national accredited programs and laws.
Media Education: Activities taking place in education to teach the use of means and critical thinking of mass communication (video production, use of multimedia, digital newspapers, etc.).