Immigrants' Integration Seen Through the Prism of Multiculturalism

This dissertation is a comparative analysis of policies and programs supporting newcomers’ integration, based on case studies of Canada and Italy. Because immigrants mainly settle in large urban centres, the scope of the research concentrates on the cities of Toronto in Ontario and Rome in Lazio. The study uses qualitativey methods andraws from literature in the fields of comparative and international education, and comparative policy analysis as well as from migration, multiculturalism and citizenship theories. The comparative analysis involved a juxtaposition of the policy and institutional framework in both countries to support the integration process. A comparison of formal and informal educational provisions, which facilitate newcomers’ integration, was also carried out. The opinions of 23 key informants working in different government and non-government agencies provided insightful information on such issues as implementation problems.Many similarities emerged from the research, such as the policy language on integration and some ‘types’ of educational provisions. Several problems were identified in both systems in terms of the challenges encountered by immigrants.