Reengaging Italy's NEET Generation: A Critical Pedagogical Approach to Economic Empowerment

Abstract

This study presents an innovative pedagogical framework for addressing Italy's persistent NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) crisis through the integration of critical adult education principles and psychosocial intervention methods. Combining discourse analysis of policy narratives with action research, the investigation reveals a fundamental mismatch between institutional approaches and NEETs' lived realities - where 23.1% of Italian youth aged 15-29 fall into this category. The research documents an alternative intervention model tested through social dreaming workshops with 47 NEET participants in Milan's social services system. These sessions, analyzing 142 dream narratives, uncovered three key empowerment barriers: (1) spatial segregation from opportunity networks (reported by 68% of participants), (2) internalized stigma (57%), and (3) discontinuous educational histories (82%). The workshops' dialogic methodology generated four concrete empowerment strategies: peer mentoring circles, skills mapping exercises, community asset mobilization, and biographical reflection practices. Quantitative pre/post assessments showed significant improvements in self-efficacy (42% increase) and labor market orientation (37% increase). The study argues for a paradigm shift from deficit-based to capability-oriented approaches, demonstrating how participatory pedagogies that center youth narratives can transform NEET policies from crisis management to sustainable empowerment.