Department of Education Sciences

... Although Anna is situated on the positive pole, exactly opposite Aldo, her evolution proves to be more like Aldo's. Anna successfully copes with school work (she reads well and writes neatly), she is autonomous (she washes without being told, combs her hair by herself ...

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is that of reaching a better comprehension of the topic of children’s rights within educational relationships. In a first stage, we analysed the representational field of children’s rights produced through free associations by the two partners who are in conflict in everyday life, namely adults (n=267) and adolescents (n=143). In a second stage, we chose a sample of 690 adult subjects that were all parents, half of whom were also teachers; through a structured questionnaire we investigated the role of several aspects (responsibility, respect, values, conditions influencing children’s growth and sense of justice) in the organisation of social representations of children’s rights. The results outlined different contrasts in the organisation of the representational scenario. The first opposes adults and adolescents, in the sense that adults emphasise their duties of offering protection and care, while the youngsters describe rights in terms of autonomous field of experience. Within the group of adults, several differences emerged between teachers and parents: the first seem more doubtful about the positive outcomes of personal involvement, while parents are moved by a general feeling of optimism, anchored in the faith in the family’s strength and integrity. L’objectif de cette recherche est de vérifier l’enjeu de la problématique des droits de l’enfant dans les relations éducatives. Dans une première phase, nous avons étudié le champ représentationnel de ces droits à travers les libres associations produites par un groupe d’adultes (n=267) et par un groupe d’adolescents (n=143). En raison du caractère inéluctable et asymétrique de la relation qui les unis, les deux groupes sont, en effet, amenés quotidiennement à se confronter sur la question de l’application des droits. Dans une deuxième phase, nous avons soumis un questionnaire à un échantillon de 690 adultes dont la moitié d’entre eux a des enfants. Il s’agissait dans ce cas d’étudier le rôle de l’attribution de responsabilité, de l’évaluation de respect des droits, des conceptions concernant le développement de l’enfant et du sens de la justice dans l’organisation des représentations sociales des droits de l’enfant. Les résultats mettent en évidence différents contrastes dans le scénario représentationnel. Le premier oppose les adultes et les adolescents: les adultes expriment avec emphase leurs devoirs de protection et de soin, tandis que les jeunes décrivent leurs droits en termes d’autonomie et d’expérience. Parmi le groupe des adultes, plusieurs différences distinguent les parents des enseignants; ceux-ci expriment plusieurs doutes en ce qui concerne l’efficacité de leur implication personnelle dans la promotion et l’application des droits, tandis que les parents expriment à ce sujet un certain optimisme soutenu par une idée traditionnelle de famille qui doit être unie et intègre.

To understand the normalization process in families with hemophiliac children, and to explore the impact of two different therapeutic regimes on it (on-demand therapy and prophylaxis), we conducted a two-phase study using semistructured interviews. In the course of the first phase, we interviewed 13 parents belonging to 10 families with hemophiliac children in on-demand therapy. In the second phase, 5 years later, we repeated the interviews with three families who began prophylaxis at different times. We analyzed the interviews using text analysis software. The results show very different representations of hemophilia and daily life. Normalization processes involve the overcoming of a divided conception of life, and encourage the integration of care practices within daily life. Moreover, in our article we suggest that although prophylaxis facilitates the recovery of a regular family routine, it alone cannot produce normalization.

ABSTRACT The authors recognize as an essential function of social service institutions for children and adolescents the avoidance and manipulation of the many and complex contradictions present within the social context. The processes of socialization within these institutions produces a rigid and dependent identity within these youths, imprisoned in concrete aspects of their actual condition and incapable of confronting their futures with any clear plans and realistic goals. This radical criticism, which is very diffused in Italy, has given rise to the suport of various initiatives which attempt to de-institutionalize youths in the province of Emilia-Romagna. One such is called apartment-Groups which the authors treat in detail, offering informa tion regarding their structure and organization. Particularly revealing are the conditions connected with the economic and managerial autonomy of the teaching personnel and the availability of adequate physical space. The authors observed these groups and conducted interviews with the young protagonists, as well as with the adults. The data provides a detailed description indicating three successive and interdependent phases in the development of these groups of adolescents. The authors suggest an hypothesis of interpretation of the psychos- social type, according to which the succession of the three phases can be defined as an indication of a process of de-socialization-re-socialization, necessary for these adolescents to break with certain limitations imposed by a preceeding institutional experience and to regain more space for free movement and new possibilities to plan their own lives.