Evaluating Diversity and Performa Gap in Veneto Schools: Marialuisa Damini on The Color of Our Children
For over a decade, Obehi Ewanfoh’s research “The Journey” has documented the friction between the ideal of integration and the stark reality of the Veneto classrooms. In the 3rd phase of the project, The Color of Our Children, a Verona based researcher and multicultural specialist, Marialuisa Damini offers a rigorous look at this evolving landscape.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
Using the Story to Asset™ framework, Damini highlights a vital shift: the African Diaspora in Italy is no longer merely “arriving”, they are “inhabiting.” Yet, beneath the surface of the Italian school system, she uncovers a structural “Performative Gap.”
This disparity does more than just affect grades; it threatens the Institutional Sovereignty and long-term agency of second-generation children.
Phase 1: Excavation – The Class Divide in the Classroom
In the Excavation Phase, Ewanfoh looks for the underlying cause of social friction. Damini excavates a startling truth: the discrimination children face is often less about “culture” and more about Sovereign Status—specifically, social class and economic weakness.
“The discriminatory attitude is not so much toward cultural diversity as toward social status. Very often, belonging to economically weaker social groups determines more discriminatory attitudes.”
Damini identifies that “difference” only becomes a “nuisance” when it is associated with a lack of resources. For the Diaspora, this is a call to Economic Sovereignty. If you want your child to be viewed as a peer rather than a “phenomenon to be contained,” you must move from the “weakest social brackets” to a position of professional and economic strength.
Translation – From Habit to Reflection
Phase 2 (Translation) involves interpreting how diversity is actually lived. Damini notes that in primary schools, diversity has become a “habit”, the children are used to seeing different faces. However, “living with” is not the same as “understanding.”
“The presence of foreign classmates does not disturb because they know each other. What disturbs is the hypothetical arrival of new ones they don’t know… diversity is scary when it is unknown.”
She translates the “fear of the other” as a lack of Narrative Exposure. The school system habituates children to the presence of the Diaspora but fails to teach the value of that presence.
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For Ewanfoh, this means the Diaspora must translate their own stories into the classroom; if you don’t define who you are, the “unknown” will remain a source of fear for the majority.
Alignment – The “Performative” Crisis of Middle School
In the Alignment Phase, we look at how the institution’s structure affects the individual’s path. Damini identifies a major misalignment in the transition from primary to secondary school (middle school).
- Primary School: Structured for social play, conoscersi (getting to know each other), and social-educational growth.
- Middle School: Becomes prestazionale (performative). Teachers are trained in disciplines (math, history) rather than social education.
“In secondary schools, teachers are more prepared from a disciplinary point of view than from a social-educational one. Building integration at that level will be very difficult.”
This is a warning for the Diaspora: the “Sovereign Asset” of your child, their intellect, is judged purely by performance as they get older.
If the child hasn’t been prepared for this “performative” shift, they fall into the Vocational Trap, choosing professional schools over Liceo (academic schools) because the system fails to evaluate their potential beyond linguistic hurdles.
Creation – Breaking the Eurocentric Monopoly
In the Creation Phase, we look at the “Software” of education. Damini argues that the current Italian curriculum is a “Eurocentric Monopoly.”
“We are used to thinking that everything revolves around the Mediterranean… but at least problematize the fact that we don’t deal with India, China, or South America. Even in Mathematics, it’s not that all Mathematics is ‘ours.’ Opening to other possibilities of knowledge is fundamental.”
For the Diaspora, “Creation” means introducing Decentralized Knowledge. If the school won’t teach the mathematical or historical contributions of Africa, the parent must “create” that knowledge at home.
This is how you ensure your child doesn’t feel like a footnote in someone else’s history, but a protagonist in a global one.
Legacy – Moving Toward “Centering” Other Perspectives
The final phase, Legacy, is about the long-term change in the “Software” of society. Damini believes things are moving toward the better, but she challenges the “Methodological” approach of the state.
“You cannot learn to see reality from other points of view if you don’t experiment with it. If the only point of view remains that of the teacher, you cannot see other perspectives.”
Her legacy is the push for Methodological Decentralization. She calls on the Ministry of Education to make intercultural programs “binding” rather than optional. For the African Diaspora, the legacy is clear: your presence has already forced the Italian school to begin its “update.” Your child is the “Beta Tester” for a more global, sovereign Italy.
Lessons for the Strategic Parent
Obehi Ewanfoh’s reporting on Marialuisa Damini’s research offers three definitive strategies for the Diaspora:
- Address the Economic Label: Since discrimination is often “social” rather than “cultural,” your path to Institutional Sovereignty is through economic and professional excellence. When you rise, the “label” of the immigrant disappears.
- Prepare for the Middle School Shift: Don’t let the “performative” nature of secondary school catch your child off guard. Transition from the “play-based” integration of primary school to a “performance-based” focus on academic mastery early.
- Supplement the Eurocentric Gap: If the school only teaches the “Mediterranean” story, you must be the one to provide the “Global” story. Your child’s competitive edge in a globalized world depends on knowing more than just the “Eurocentric” perspective.
Your Next Step Toward Sovereignty
Marialuisa Damini reminds us that the school system is “in a state of becoming.” It is adapting to the presence of your children, but it is not yet perfect.
Are you ready to move from being a “social phenomenon to be contained” to being a “Sovereign Asset to be valued”? The first step is reclaiming your narrative and supplementing your child’s “Eurocentric” education with a global one.
The bridge to your Fortress of Peace is built on the academic and cultural excellence you foster at home. At AClasses Academy, we help you bridge the “Methodological Gap” between what the school teaches and what the world requires.
