The co-operation with the parents of at risk students within the re-engaging measures. A «thin» relationship

Abstract

Measures against disengagement are generally addressed to rebuild the relationship between the at-risk student and the school environment. But the literature shows that this approach looks inefficient if the relationship with his/her family is not affected and the school-family link still remains unfamiliar and unbalanced. The essay aims at describing the precarious co-operation between school and family within two re-engaging measures adopted in Switzerland (Vaud) and in Southern Italy (Plan of Social Cohesion F3 – ESF). A qualitative and comparative analysis of normative and working documents (laws, assessment and monitoring reports) leads the authors to identify the critical conditions under which the school-family link is more vulnerable and some recommendations to foster it during re-engaging programs.