Definire e riconoscere i bisogni educativi speciali. Lo svantaggio socio-economico, linguistico e culturale nelle percezioni degli insegnanti: indagine esplorativa in contesti italiani e maltesi

This research develops from the issues of identify the Special Educational Needs (SEN), which are introduced in Italian schools by the Ministerial Direction of 27 December 2012. The main focus is the broad category of SEN due to "socio-economic, linguistic and cultural disadvantage". This area of need includes the conditions of students, without certification of disability or disturb, who live situations of "scholastic disadvantage". The process of defining and recognizing this type of SEN is extremely delicate and complex: on the one hand it formalises support and valorisation of differences, on the other hand it risks to categorise – and so to exclude – everything that differs form “normality”, trapping difficulties in unproductive labels and classifications. The aim is to explore two different aspects: the psychosocial and cultural dynamics which make teachers identify SENs and the educational and pedagogical effects of this choice. This is why we decided to carry on an exploratory research – in Italian and Maltese scholastic contexts – to investigate teachers’ didactic experiences and perceptions on SEN’s definition and recognition. This allowed us to build up a comprehensive framework of both the identification process of SENs and the educational practices, to this day, implemented in Italian schools.