Conference Program

In increasingly diverse societies, ensuring equitable access to higher education has become a key democratic responsibility of education systems (UNESCO, 2018). Despite the formal recognition of educational rights, students with a migratory background continue to experience significant inequalities in educational trajectories. In Italy, these students are disproportionately enrolled in vocational and technical tracks and are less likely to transition to university compared to their native peers (Bertozzi, 2018; Carlana et al., 2022; Mantovani et al., 2018; Volante et al., 2019). While existing research has extensively documented structural barriers, comparatively fewer studies have explored how students with a migratory background themselves interpret educational opportunities and constraints, particularly in relation to school guidance processes and the transition to higher education. Understanding how young people perceive and navigate these institutional contexts is crucial for examining how everyday school practices may contribute to either reproducing or challenging educational inequalities.

This paper presents preliminary findings from a qualitative study conducted within the broader research project FINE – Fighting INequalities in Education. Promoting Access to Universities for Students with Migratory Backgrounds (https://fineproject.it/), funded by Fondazione Cariplo. The project investigates the cultural, socio-economic, and institutional factors shaping educational aspirations and decision-making processes among students with a migratory background, with particular attention to how school practices and guidance processes influence access to higher education.

The study adopts a participatory qualitative research design grounded in a Student Voice approach (Cook-Sather, 2020; Welty & Lundy, 2013), which positions students as key informants in understanding educational pathways and decision-making processes. The research, currently ongoing, is being conducted in six upper secondary schools in the Lombardy region, purposefully selected for their significant presence of students with a migratory background and to represent the main educational tracks of the Italian system (academic, technical, and vocational). Data collection combines initial focus groups with teachers responsible for career guidance and 29 focus groups with 278 fourth-year students—both with and without a migratory background—aimed at exploring their perceptions of post-secondary opportunities, educational aspirations, and perceived barriers to university access. In addition, a selected group of students with a migratory background (N = 30) document their reflections and evolving expectations through a four-month digital diary, providing a longitudinal perspective on how aspirations and decision-making processes develop over time.

By foregrounding the experiences and perspectives of students themselves, this research sheds light on how school practices, cultural norms, and socio-economic conditions interact in shaping educational choices among migrant-background youth. Preliminary insights highlight the complexity of students’ aspirations and the multiple factors that influence their perceived access to higher education. The findings also point to the ambivalent role of school guidance and institutional practices, which can simultaneously reproduce existing inequalities or open spaces for more equitable educational pathways.

By contributing empirical evidence grounded in students’ lived experiences, this paper aims to inform ongoing debates on educational stratification and access to higher education. It also reflects on the potential of Student Voice methodologies to challenge deficit-oriented perspectives and to support more inclusive and equitable educational practices.