Teachers' Representations on Adoptive Families and Educational Practices: New Challenges in Teachers' Preparation

Abstract

In Italy, as in Europe, the number of internationally adopted school-aged children is increasing. The school is the first place where they can meet their new context, enabling good achievement of the whole integration and adoption processes. The research uses a qualitative method to explore the representations and the strategies that guide the educational work of 268 teachers of eight primary schools in relation to the adoptive family. ATLAS.ti 7.0 software was used. The results show an ambivalent representation of the adoptive family, which is reflected in the contents and strategy used by teachers to address issues of adoption.