Working, Living and Aging with the Elderly: Domestic Care Workers and their Lifelong Learning Practices. The Case of Romanian Women in Italy

Titolo Rivista MONDI MIGRANTI
Autori/Curatori Tanja Schroot
Anno di pubblicazione 2025 Fascicolo 2025/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 17 P. 97-113 Dimensione file 105 KB
DOI 10.3280/MM2025-001006
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

For several decades, European policymakers have been investing substantial efforts in boosting national and individual engagement for lifelong learning (LLL) to drive sustainable growth and to build a more inclusive society. The forecasted longevity of the European population and the potentially extended employment period warrant further research on adult education of the currently aging (migrant) labour population to draw conclusions on their potential for both, increased civic participation and social inclusion beyond their working life. Accordingly, this paper focused on competence building practices of female middle-aged migrant healthworkers, covering thus a range of categories that are highly vulnerable at the labour market and in society. Findings of this qualitative research with 23 Romanian domestic careworkers in Turin suggest that formal and informal adult training may have indeed a substantial impact on social inclusion in the host society.

Per diversi decenni, i decisori politici europei hanno investito ingenti sforzi per promuovere l'impegno nazionale e individuale nell’apprendimento permanente (LLL) al fine di favorire una crescita sostenibile e costruire una società più inclusiva. La longevità prevista della popolazione europea e il potenziale allungamento del periodo di impiego giustificano ulteriori ricerche sull’educazione degli adulti, in particolare della popolazione lavorativa (migrante) attualmente in invecchiamento, per trarre conclusioni sul loro potenziale sia per una maggiore partecipazione civica che per l’inclusione sociale oltre la loro vita lavorativa. Di conseguenza, questo articolo si è concentrato sulle pratiche di sviluppo delle competenze delle lavoratrici migranti di mezza età nel settore sanitario, coprendo così una serie di categorie particolarmente vulnerabili sia nel mercato del lavoro che nella società. I risultati di questa ricerca qualitativa con 23 assistenti domiciliari rumene a Torino suggeriscono che la formazione adulta formale e informale possa effettivamente avere un impatto significativo sull’inclusione sociale nella società ospitante.

Parole chiave:apprendimento permanente; migranti di mezza età; lavoro sanitario domestico; inclusione sociale; partecipazione civica.

  1. Akgüç M. and Parasnis J. (2023). Occupation-Education Mismatch of Immigrant Women. Social Indicators Research. Springer.
  2. Allulli G. (2016). From the Lisbon strategy to Europe 2020. Rome: CNOS FAP.
  3. Baldassar L., Ferrero L. and Portis L. (2017). ‘More like a daughter than an employee’: the kinning process between migrant care workers, elderly care receivers and their extended families. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 24, 5: 524-541.
  4. Barbiano di Belgiojoso E. and Ortensi L.E. (2018). Satisfied after all? WORKING trajectories and job satisfaction of foreign-born female domestic and care workers in Italy. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45, 13: 2527-2550.
  5. Belmonte M., Grubanov-Boskovic S., Natale F., Conte A., Belanger A. and Sabourin P. (2023). Demographic microsimulation of long-term care needs in the European Union. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union
  6. Boeren E. (2019). Foreign-Born Adults’ Participation in Educational Activities. European Education, 51, 2: 127-146.
  7. Brine J. (2006). Lifelong learning and the knowledge economy: Those that know and those that do not the discourse of the European Union. British Educational Research Journal, 32, 5: 649-665.
  8. Calzada I. and Brooks C. (2013). The myth of Mediterranean familism. European Societies, 15, 4: 514- 534.
  9. Corbetta P. (2003). Social research: Theory, methods and techniques. London: SAGE Publications, Ltd.
  10. Della Puppa F. (2012). Being Part of the Family: Social and Working Conditions of Female Migrant Care Workers in Italy. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 20: 3, 182-198.
  11. Dotsey S. (2023). Foreign healthcare workers and COVID-19 in Europe: The paradox of unemployed skilled labour. Social Sciences, 12, 4: 211.
  12. Elder G.H., Johnson M.K. and Crosnoe R. (2003). The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory. In: Mortimer J.T. and Shanahan M. J., eds., Handbook of the life course. Boston: Springer.
  13. EPRS (2023). Migrant women and the EU labour market. European Parliament.
  14. Equinet (2021). Domestic and Care Workers in Europe: An Intersectional Issue; -- https://equineteurope.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Domestic-and-Care-Workers-in-Europe-An-Intersectional-Issue.pdf
  15. EURES (2022). Report on labour shortages and surpluses. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  16. European Commission (2022). Adult Learning Statistics; -- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Adult_learning_statistics
  17. European Commission (2022a). Education and Training Monitor 2022. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  18. European Commission (2018). Proposal for a Council recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning. Brussels: European Commission European Parliament (2023). Migrant women and the EU labour market. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/747905/EPRS_BRI(2023)747905_EN.pdf
  19. European Parliament and Council of the European Union (2008). Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning. (2008/C 111/01).
  20. Eurostat (2024). EU life expectancy estimated at 81.5 years in 2023; -- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
  21. Eurostat (2023). Population structure and ageing; -- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/
  22. Eurostat (2023a). More women than men held tertiary degrees in 2022; -- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news
  23. Eurostat (2021). Jobs with the highest share of women in Q3 2021; -- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news
  24. Eurydice (2024). Strutture dei sistemi educativi europei; -- https://eurydice.indire.it/
  25. ILO (2024). Resolution concerning decent work and the care economy. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
  26. ILO (2022). Making the right to social security a reality for domestic workers. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
  27. ILO (2012). International Standard Classification of Occupations. Structure, group definitions and correspondence tables. Geneva: International Labour Office.
  28. ISTAT (2023). Resident foreigners on 1st January – Citizenship. -- https://dati.istat.it
  29. Lamura G., Chiatti C., Di Rosa M., Melchiorre M.G., Barbabella F., Greco C., Principi A. and Santini S. (2010). Migrant workers in the long-term care sector: Lessons from Italy. Health and Ageing, 22, 4: 8-12.
  30. Landesmann M., Leitner S. and Jestl S. (2015). Migrants and Natives in EU Labour Markets: Mobility and Job-Skill Mismatch Patterns. Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies
  31. Lee M. and Jan S. (2017). Lifelong learning policy discourses of international organisations since 2000: A kaleidoscope or merely fragments? In: Milana M. et al., The Palgrave International Handbook on Adult and Lifelong Education and Learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
  32. Mara I. (2012). Surveying Romanian Migrants in Italy Before and After the EU Accession. Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies.
  33. Marchetti S., Piazzalunga D. and Venturini A. (2014). Does Italy represent an opportunity for temporary migrants from the eastern partnership countries? IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, 3: 1-20.
  34. Mariani R.D., Pasquini A. and Rosati F.C. (2023). The immigration puzzle in Italy: A survey of evidence and facts. Italian Economic Journal, 9,1: 85-116.
  35. McAuliffe M. and Triandafyllidou A., eds. (2021). World Migration Report 2022. Geneva: International Organization for Migration
  36. McGowan M. and Andrews D. (2015). Skill Mismatch and Public Policy in OECD Countries. OECD Publishing.
  37. Municipality of Turin (2024). O.S.S. - Operatore Socio Sanitario. -- http://www.comune.torino.it/.
  38. Nicolescu G. (2019). Keeping the Elderly Alive. Global Entanglements and Embodied Practices in Long-Term Care in Southeast Italy. Anthropology & Aging, 40, 1: 77-93.
  39. Piedmont Region (2024). Scheda informativa. Corsi per Operatore Socio-Sanitario (OSS); -- https://www.regione.piemonte.it/
  40. Rugolotto S., Larotonda A. and van der Geest S. (2017). How migrantskeep Italian families Italian: badanti and the private care of older people. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 13, 2: 185-197.
  41. Saraceno C. (2016). Varieties of Familialism: Comparing four southern European and East Asian Welfare regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 26, 4: 314-326.
  42. Schroot T. (2024). Lifelong learning e competenze chiave in una società Europea super-diversificata. In: Ricucci R. e Rosa A. (2024). Didattica per competenze e orizzonti educativi. La prospettiva lifelong learning (pp. 41-60). Pensa MultiMedia.
  43. Settersten R.A. (2015). Relationships in time and the life course: The significance of linked lives. Research in Human Development, 12, 3-4: 217-223.
  44. Sparreboom T. and Tarvid A. (2017). Skills mismatch of natives and immigrants in Europe. Geneva: International Labour Office.
  45. ?oc S. and Gu?u D. (2021). Migration and Elderly Care Work in Italy: Three Stories of Romanian and Moldovan Care Workers. Central and Eastern European Migration Review, 71-90.
  46. UNESCO (2013). Glossary of curriculum terminology. UNESCO International Bureau of Education.
  47. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (2020). Lifelong Learning e-toolkit: Handbook; -- https://lifelonglearning-toolkit.uil.unesco.org/en/node/1
  48. Vianello F. (2018). Fragmented Careers, Gender, and Migration During the Great Recession. In: Vlase I. and Voicu B., eds., Gender, family, and adaptation of migrants in Europe: A life course perspective (pp. 117-138). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
  49. Vouyioukas A. and Liapi M. (2013). Coping with Deskilling: Strategies of migrant women across European societies. In: Anthias F., Kontos M. and Morokvasic-Mueller M., eds., Paradoxes of Integration: Female Migrants in Europe (pp. 79-96). Dordrech: Springer.
  50. WEF (2023). Putting Skills First: A Framework for Action. Centre for the New Economy and Society.
  51. WEF (2021). 40% of all projected job opportunities will be created in this sector. And it’s not technology; -- https://www.weforum.org
  52. WHO (2022). Health and care workforce in Europe: time to act. Brussels: Regional Office for Europe
  53. Zanfrini L. (2019). Il lavoro degli immigrati in Europa e in Italia: Una sfida paradigmatica per la costruzione di un’economia inclusiva. Studi Emigrazione, LVI, 213: 9-36. Roma: Centro Studi Emigrazione.

Tanja Schroot, Working, Living and Aging with the Elderly: Domestic Care Workers and their Lifelong Learning Practices. The Case of Romanian Women in Italy in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 1/2025, pp 97-113, DOI: 10.3280/MM2025-001006