At risk teenagers. Possible intervention strategies in impossible realities

Valerio P., Bacchini D.

Franco Angeli

Italian

English

School - fast (family and school together) - pre-school age – Chance project - adolescence

Book

Parents, Teachers, Young People, School Directors.

Over 100 pages

The book gives a valid support towards prevention and anti-social attitudes of children and adolescents that occur at school. We all know how profitable the intervention towards the reduction of the drop out phenomenon was, thanks to the funds of the Piano Nazionale per l’Infanzia e l’Adolescenza (legge 285/97) – National plan for childhood and adolescence (law 285/97). An increase in quantity is not supported by an increase in quality, as many of the projects carried out in this area suffered the lack of a unique intervention strategy, of too differential methods and of a technical instrumentation which is not always put into practice. Particularly in this book two prevention experiences are presented. The first one – the Fast Track Project - was carried out in the USA and refers to socio-cognitive models. The second one, Chance Project, was carried out in Italy and it combines intervention methods with teenagers in participating workshop activities, - which combine rational aspects of learning together with emotional aspects (it is an interesting application of Bion’s thought), with the cooperation with a group of operators focused on the reduction and the development of emotions experienced while working by drop out students. The book suggests the idea that a wide range of schools must be involved to reach good results in the prevention of the behavioural psychosocial and psychopathological risk. What is important is the respect of the methodology, the coherence and the civil coexistence.

The book describes some interesting projects about how to prevent and deal with risky attitudes of children and adolescents at school. This book was created by the Interuniversity Center for the research and the development of pro and anti social behaviour and offers a wide analysis and comparison of various researches carried out in different contexts, in Italy and abroad. Some researches deal with the causes that make teenagers act out abuse, others include a series of prevention and intervention experiences. It can be addressed to school psychologists – who are interested in testing projects for the prevention of deviating behaviour and of the consequent drop out phenomenon – and to teachers, headmasters and social operators that - even if they do not believe that today’s school institution could fulfill the needs of teenagers belonging to socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds - are eager to know new strategies and initiatives apt to fight against students’ lacking motivation at school.

don Milani