# Community as the key to socio-education: an analysis of challenges and practices in migratory contexts

## TL;DR

This study explores the challenges and practices of socio-educational work for unaccompanied minors in Italy, emphasizing the importance of community and collaboration.

## Contribution

The study introduces a grounded thematic analysis of socio-educational practices in migratory contexts, highlighting the role of community and inter-agency coordination.

## Key findings

- Participants faced tensions between empathy and professional distance, bureaucratic hurdles, and language barriers.
- Six thematic categories emerged, including migration drivers, challenges, and operational tools for integration.
- Reflective teamwork and structured activities support integration but require supervision and training.

## Abstract

This study examines socio-educational work in reception centres for unaccompanied foreign minors (MENAS) in Salerno, Italy, focusing on tools, practices, and challenges within residential care.

Qualitative single-case study; interviews with judges, prosecutors, law enforcement and staff; two focus groups with eight socio-educational workers; thematic analysis using a grounded approach.

Participants reported tensions between empathy and professional distance, bureaucratic hurdles, language barriers, trauma-related needs, and limited inter-institutional coordination. Six thematic categories emerged: actors’ map; migration drivers; challenges; practitioner role; minors’ perspectives; operational tools.

Findings align with social learning, scaffolding, and transference frameworks. Reflective teamwork and structured daily activities support integration but require supervision and training. Implications concern inter-agency coordination and rights-based inclusion pathways.