Panel K.08 — Young People of Minority Ethnic and Migrant Background in Education. Combining Social Reproduction and Social Change
Convenors Mariagrazia Santagati (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy); Berenice Scandone (Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Italy)
Keywords Migration, ethnicity, intersectionality, educational inequalities, social change
Within increasingly multiethnic countries, a growing and heterogeneous presence of children and young people of immigrant and/or minority ethnic origins has become a crucial component in the education system, from early childhood services to higher education. These young people’s education, employment and broader life prospects, as well as their relationships and identities, are shaped by several contextual key-factors (Crul, 2018), including: the country’s immigration history; its education and labour market system; its migratory, educational, social, and labour policies; the spread of ethno-racial discrimination even in intercultural contexts (Santagati, Bertozzi, 2023); local contexts and opportunity structures; and networks of relations with relevant others such as teachers, family and peers. Within this framework, research has critically drawn attention to persisting educational inequalities along lines of race, ethnicity and migration background (Stevens, Dworkin, 2019). Yet, on the other hand, it has illuminated the achievements that some of these young people achieve despite the odds (Schneider, Crul, Pott, 2022), their counter-trend paths and their reflexivity and resistance to the inequalities experienced (Santagati, 2021; Scandone, 2021).
This session aims at combining these two perspectives, analysing how multiple, intersecting dimensions of identity and inequality (e.g., gender, socio-economic status, religion, sexuality, age, and disability) interact with migrant and/or minority ethnic background, enabling or curtailing access to resources and opportunities, also considering how young people themselves perceive and navigate the contexts encountered.
We particularly welcome research that explores and interprets the intertwining manifestations of social reproduction and social change in young people’s lives, and how these relate to participation in education. This includes studies on the manyfold educational experiences and outcomes, as well as those investigating how these experiences inform young people’s broader social identities and participation in different social spheres. Furthermore, an intersectional approach to analysing the experiences of specific groups (e.g., migrant girls; unaccompanied minors and refugees; black students; young migrants with disabilities; Roma young people; young Muslims; LGBTQ+ young people of minority ethnic origins) is suggested. To this end, we invite presentations covering theoretical and analytical approaches to understanding the coexistence of reproduction and change in the same experiences of immigrant and/or minority ethnic origin youth as well as empirical studies employing various methodologies to pin down underlying factors and processes.