Abstract

Italian research on the relational dimension of second-generation experiences in and outside school reveals a complex picture in which positive practices of relation and inclusion coexist with relational disadvantages, interethnic conflicts and discrimination. This article engages in this debate by exploring social relations and practices of identification and belonging of students with a migration background in Rome’s high schools. The findings bring to light the ways in which second generation youth actively negotiate experiences of inclusion and exclusion and the dynamic interplay between multiple identification and the fluid relationships between them. Students’ narratives call attention to new boundaries for defining ingroups and outgroups in a society where the differentiation between (and within) groups is becoming more and more visible.