Conference Program

Promoting educational environments that reduce inequality, stigma, and exclusion is a central challenge in addressing educational poverty and supporting equitable developmental pathways for children with complex family histories (Ferrari et al., 2022). Within this framework, addressing adoption in school contexts is increasingly recognized as relevant both for children’s well-being and for the creation of inclusive learning environments (Caceres et al., 2024; Novara et al., 2020). Although the literature emphasizes the importance of self-disclosure and openness in communication about adoption (Aramburu Alegret et al., 2020; Ranieri et al., 2022; Ranieri et al., 2025; Santona et al., 2022), studies describing structured school-based interventions on these topics and evaluating their effectiveness remain scarce.

This work presents an exploratory study of the intervention “Quante storie in ogni classe” (“How Many Stories in Every Classroom”), a programme developed by a voluntary non-profit organization Petali dal Mondo, and implemented in primary schools. The intervention is conceived as an educational practice designed to strengthen protective factors relevant to the prevention of educational poverty, fostering opportunities for self-disclosure, active participation, recognition of individual stories, promoting a positive classroom climate, and enhancing the quality of peer relationships. From this perspective, narrative work serves an inclusive function not only for adopted children but for the whole class group, making differences visible and valuing them within everyday school experience (Brown & Shelton, 2024; Grotevant & Van Korff, 2011).

The study assumed a pre–post design in order to observe possible changes in children’s levels of self-disclosure, perceptions of classroom climate, and sociometric dynamics. Twenty-four children from a comprehensive school in the North of Italy (mean age 7 years), including one adopted child, took part in the research. Both quantitative and qualitative instruments were used: the Self-Disclosure Scale; the Social Satisfaction subscale of the Children’s Loneliness; the Social Dissatisfaction Scale; graphic and narrative productions representing the self at school and in the family; and a sociogram to analyze peer relationships.

Overall, the findings indicated a positive trend following the intervention. Improvements were observed in perceived social satisfaction and relational classroom climate, together with a shift toward deeper and more reflective forms of self-disclosure. Sociometric data also showed increased reciprocity among classmates. While causal conclusions cannot be drawn, these results suggest that structured self-disclosure and cooperative structured self-narrative activities and cooperative work may contribute to a more participatory and inclusive school context, supporting processes of recognition and belonging that are key dimensions in the prevention of educational poverty.

The study, therefore, proposes this intervention as a promising educational practice capable of strengthening relational protective factors. In this perspective, the findings encourage wider dissemination of school-based interventions addressing adoption and autobiographical narrative, and call for further research into their effectiveness, supporting genuinely inclusive educational pathways for children with complex and challenging family histories.