Managing and Mediating Intercultural Conflicts in Italian Schools

Constitution of the Italian Republic states that school is open to everyone. Today’s topic, taking into consideration the migration flows of the latest three decades, is how to keep school open and attentive to all the children, if students’ characteristics, behaviors and backgrounds are so different, unknown and sometimes difficult to understand and integrate. A linguistic-cultural mediator facilitates communication not only between the educator and the student, between the pupil and the class group. He works with a child himself, immigrant families, teachers and school operators, acts as an intermediary between different cultures, reducing the uncertainty and misunderstanding that may arise. In this context intercultural mediation becomes an educative principle to be promoted and empowered.