Our interviewees in this episode have compelling research on how schools are sites of “integration” to be taken seriously.
When it comes to what influences “migrant integration”, you might think of national-level laws and policies, and maybe look at statistics on how well immigrants are doing in relation to other groups with employment rates, their health, or language acquisition. You might also look at to what extent people have “accepting attitudes” to newcomers or neighbours with different backgrounds than them.
Our interviewees in this episode have compelling research on how schools are sites of “integration” to be taken seriously. After all, schools are the primary public institution where people interact with wider societies. They talk about how people in schools adapt in different ways to intercultural and multi-lingual realities and how they can be key places of civic engagement for not only for students, but also for parents.
You’ll hear Samanwita Paul interview Dr. Irene Landini and Dr. Jacob Garrett.
Dr. Irene Landini is a Postdoc in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. Her research is in political science and sociology and focuses on the policies and practices of inclusion and exclusion of migrants and cultural and linguistic minorities from welfare services and formal educational contexts in European countries. She is the principal investigator of the Project “Digitalization and social inclusion of migrant parents in secondary schools: a challenge or an opportunity?”.
Dr. Jacob Garrett is a Research Professor at the University of Genoa in Italy. He is the Principle investigator of the Project: The Democratic Integration of Migrants. Political theory of council democracy. He also headed the Project: 'Parent Citizens,' Schools of Citizenship: Parent Councils at Public Schools in Italy, Spain, and France. He says that he “draws inspiration from [his] ethnographic encounters with immigrants, parents, and students who practice democracy every day at schools and cities in Italy, France, Spain, and the United States.”
Further reading from Dr. Irene Landini:
1) Landini I. Intercultural education and linguistic and cultural diversity: navigating the tension between policy and grassroots implementation in schools. Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy. Published online 2025:1-19. doi:10.1017/ics.2025.10055
2) Landini, I. (2025). Old And New Diversities In Schools: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences with Migrant Students In South Tyrol's Rigidly Divided School System. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 25(2), 250-272.
3) Landini, I., (2022) ‘Beyond Welfare Chauvinism? Populist Radical Right Parties’ Social Policies and The Exclusion of Migrants from National Welfare in Italy’, Italian Political Science, 16(2).
4) Landini, I. (2024). ‘Encountering Migrant-Driven Diversity in South Tyrolean’ Rigid System of Linguistically Divided Schools: a Bottom-Up Perspective’. In: Elisabeth Alber, Alice Engl and Günther Pallaver (eds) POLITIKA 2021-Südtiroler Jahrbuch für Politik/Annuario di politica dell’Alto Adige.
Dr. Landini would like to acknowledge funding for her work from a YUFE4POSTDOC/MSCA Grant: https://www.yufe.eu/early-career-researchers/yufe4postdocs/
From Dr. Garrett:
1) Garrett, Jacob. 2025. "When Parents Govern: Participatory Decision Making and the Engineered Public Spirit." Polity 57 (4): 694-723. Garrett, Jacob and Valeria Ottonelli. 2025. “Democratic Prudence: The Philosophical and Empirical Grounding of Citizen Competence.” The Journal of Politics 87 (2): 424-436.
2) Projects: 'Parent Citizens,' Schools of Citizenship: Parent Councils at Public Schools in Italy, Spain, and France. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101024883
3) The Democratic Integration of Migrants. This project has received funding from the Italian PNRR program, "Finanziamento di Progetti Presentati Da Giovani Ricercatori" grant agreement NO. D3325000510001