Abstract
This chapter explores the gender dimension of participation in school activities and practicing agency at school by migrant children in the seven countries participating in the research project. Based on the qualitative research with professionals (i.e. teachers, social workers, mediators) and children, it highlights how professionals problematise gender and ideas of gender equality in their work with children and their families. The chapter also explores how gender practices are performed by children and reflected in their experiences. The analysis of the interviews allowed us to distinguish three interrelated contexts, which make gender discernible and problematised: (1) performing cultural norms by children and gender stereotypes; (2) relations with parents and their inclusion in the education process; and (3) peer relations. The chapter demonstrates that, in all three contexts, the school is a space of manoeuvring between different gender expectations, negotiating and re-defining gender roles and enacting gender relations. © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Claudio Baraldi; individual chapters, the contributors.