migrant and ethnic minority youths in europe challenges for integration

7/27/2019 Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in Europe Challenges for Integration

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Migrant and ethnic minority youths in

Europe

Challenges for Integration Policies

Ren Bendit : Free ConsultantLudwig Maximilian Universitt Munich &

Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO)

Former: Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V.

[email protected]


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Contents

Central Hypothesis

Concepts and Definitions

Some figures: Autochthon and Migrant Population in the

EU Member StatesChallenges for Young Migrants and Ethnic Minority Youthsin their Transitions to Work and Adult Life


Policy Concepts of Young Migrants- and Minority Youths

Integration in EU- EuropeModes of Integration and Strategies in EU- Europe

Conclusions:


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Globalization and Social Modernization:Effects on Migration and Ethnic Minority Groups

Central Hypothesis:

Globalization, modernisation and migration processes changed the social

map of Europe: they are changing radically the world of work, of culture

and of social life. Immigrants, especially those who came from 'third world' countries, were

expected to undergo a process of assimilation, and to integrate into the

dominant culture by relinquishing their particular past and tradition.

Young migrants and young people of migrant or ethnic origin are becoming

part of modern youth in Europe. In this process they have to cope not onlywith the classical developmental tasks of youth life but also with

challenges of late modernity.


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Globalization and Social Modernization:Effects on Migration and Ethnic MinorityGroups

Social and cultural integration challenges:

The issue of European ethnic minority or migrant young people points

to a double challenge:

In everyday life young people with ethnic minority background, orthe new Europen youth , faces both social and cultural integration

challenges. At the one hand they are placed as other young people

in a late modern youth life which is demanding and important for

future social success.

At the other hand, they are challenged by a new cultural lifestylewhich may be different from values and traditions of parents and

therefore also makes it difficult to engage and become successful in

late modern youth life.


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Globalization and Social Modernization:Effects on Migration and Ethnic MinorityGroups

Social and cultural integration challenges:

Two different theoretical perspectives embedded in these approach:

The first perspective points to the challenges of social integration

and the second to

the development of cultural differences


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Social and cultural integration challenges

The social integrative perspective often draws a very static picture

of the society and its values and also looks at the individual as only

an element in a process of social integration.

The cultural perspective sees the process of individual developmentas a cultural process between cultures, as an abstract discourse

about cultural differences and cultural assimilation.

ethnic minority integration is a process which has in its centre the

individual agent. Therefore the social integration process should

focus the agent as an engaged player in his or her life.


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Issues and challenges for integration policies includeamong others:

Demographic ageing

Shortages of working age populations and dependency ratios andpayment of pensions

Changes regarding labour supply and demand

Multiculturalism and cultural changes induced by migrations:

endangering social cohesion and the development of parallel

societies) Creation of a new and marginalised underclass: growing

criminality, violence and identification with terrorism under migrant

and ethnic minority youths


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Some Figures on Migration in Europeand the necessity to differentiate concepts related toMigration , Ethnic Minorities and Migrant Youths

Foreign population in Europe accounts for about 2.6% of the

population of Europe (CDGM, 2002).

The greater proportion of foreigners was residing in Western

Europe.

While in Western Europe, the stocks of foreign population seems to

have increased considerably during the recent years, in Central and

Eastern Europe, flows of migration have been modest and the

proportion of foreign population remain relatively small.

However, data available for East European countries are lessreliable and comprehensive and derived from a variety of sources

and definitions. Thus, it is probable that they underestimate the real

proportion of foreign population currently residing in those countries.


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Some Figures on Migration in Europeand the necessity to differentiate concepts related toMigration , Ethnic Minorities and Migrant Youths

EU 2006:

From 462 Million inhabitants living in EU- Europe (EU-15) in 2006

84% were citizens of EU- Member States. The other 75 Million werecitizens of the 10 new (Central and East European) EU- States.

Around 42 Mio were born outside of the EU-borders e.g. in so called

third countries.

Denmark Finland Germany Spain

ForeignersRate2006 8,2 2 8,5 8,8

YouthRate(-15) 18,7 17,3 14,1 14,5

Migrant PopulationstendtobeYoungerthanAutochthons


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Differentiation of the Migrant and Ethnic MinorityPopulation

In all European countries, migrants and ethnic minorities constitute a diverse

group. It includes:

Persons belonging to long term established communities of ex - immigrants

Long-term and temporary invited workers (Gastarbeiter)

Frontier workers and merchants (among them are unskilled workers and

highly educated people).

Students and highly qualified Green Cards

Migrants from former colonies with British, French, Portuguese or Spanish

citizenship

Migrants from East Europe

Political Refugees. Irregular migration is also an important component of migration movements in

Europe (Niessen, 2000)


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Problems and Challenges for Migrant and EthnicMinority Youths in EU- Europe

Problems with formal education:

Migrant and ethnic minority youths of First, Second and Third

Generation often have

lower formal educational qualifications than autochthons problematic educational careers and misleading trajectories.

The possibilities of young migrants and ethnic minority youths to

develop own determined biographic careers are lower than those of

autochthons of their same age and social class.

(s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009)


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Problems and Challenges for Migrant and EthnicMinority Youths in EU- Europe

In most EU-Member States the central difficulties of migrant youths or

youths with a migration background are linked to:

Language problems

Learning difficulties

School interruptions and school abandonment

Orientation problems inside the educational system (and also lack of

information on the side of parents)

Specially young Roma and Sinti in different EU- Member States

(e.g. Romania; Bulgaria, Czech Republic; Hungary; Spain, Portugal)and travellers (Ireland), show high rates of early school

abandonment

(s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009)


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Education to work transitions of young migrants andethnic minority youths: a stony road

Young immigrants without access to formal vocational training

positions become jobless often than majority youths with the same

pre-conditions

Young migrants get (mostly unqualified jobs) in intra-ethnicenterprises (e.g. Italians in Restaurants; Turks in different kind of

shops, etc.) or learn certain professions from their parents.

Some of them get integrated into the family business or are

supported in looking for jobs through family networks


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Education to work transitions of young migrants andethnic minority youths: a stony road

Low qualified youths have many difficulties in labour market

integration in countries with high educational standards and post-

industrial labour markets. This is mostly the case in countries like

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Entrepreneurs appreciate high educational qualifications from

school leavers. This can give origin to prejudices and negative

attitudes and practices towards migrant youths and members of

ethnic minorities. (Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change

(2006; 2009).


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Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths inEU- Europe

A central challenge for ethnic minority or emigrant young people: if toengage in the individualisation process (as it is constructed in a late

modern society and as it is formed in late modern youth life) or if they

should lean more at their parental cultural practices and values.

The social integration of western young people is formed according to

future life in European late modern societies: therefore young people

s social integration is based in the educational system and points to

late modern aspects of individualisation. (s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor

of social change 2006; 2009)

Young people have to learn to function culturally as agents in late

modern western world. They should be able to colonise the future

(Giddens 1994).


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Especially ethnic minority youth with only a little knowledge of local school culture and a low

level of local language skills experience youth and school problems: They may feel not invited into or excluded from late modern youth life.

They may feel or be objectively discriminated by legal regulations, attitudes of employers,

etc.

They are maybe not supported enough from their families and local backgrounds.

They are maybe not successful in integrating to autochthon peer groups.

Ethnic minority youth in many ways seem to have taken over the place which before was

occupied by working class kids who had problems with school life.

The social integrative challenge seems to challenge structural integration


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Besides that, minority and migrant youths have to cope with: Differences and contradictions between majority and minority

cultures;

Tensions between social and value changes and traditions: between

traditional and modern values of and life styles of their different

(family, school, peers, etc.) social contexts;

Tensions and conflicts between their cultural identity and self-

understanding and their categorisation as strangers/foreigners/

Fremde by majority groups (s. Up2Youth- Youth as actor of social

change 2006; 2009)


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Migrant Youths & Structures of Disadvantage

in Transitions to Work

Social inequality creates constellations of disadvantage in whichstructural lack of resources and opportunities interacts with individual

orientations and coping strategies

Structural Ressources and Opportunities

School Lack of Missing links dropping- Mismatch Missing Partial/

Problems Qualifica- to vocational out of of Quali- Working- unsuficient-

tions training/ Univ. Education/ fications places Citizenship

Training/

Study

A G E N C Y

Youths and Young Adults


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Modes and Strategies of Migrant- and Minority Youths

Integration in EU- Europe

Different European Modes of Integration for Minority- andMigrant Youths:

The Multicultural Mode of Integration (UK)

The Republican Mode of Integration (France)

The Social State Mode of integration (Austria/Germany/The

Netherlands)

The Universalistic (equal opportunity policy) Mode of Integration

(Finland and Denmark)

The Mediterranean Mode of Integration (Greece; Italy; Portugal;

Spain)

The Migration Management Mode (Council of Europe/European

Commission)


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Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU-

Europe

Summary and Conclusions

1st Conclusion:

In most European societies, ethnic minority youth is standingat the threshold to late modern individualised youth life. As

newcomers to western societies they are suddenly lifted intolate modern youth life and as minority youth they are underpressure to participate in late modern youth life. Late modernyouth life however exist as many aspects of everyday life. It isboth differentiated as a time structure, as a context structureand according to cultural norms and values of youth


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Europe

2nd Conclusion:

If ethnic minority youth become agents in late modernEuropean societies then this form of individual agency

however may be in conflict with the cultural background ofethnic minority youth, where social integration may beexpected to follow the logic of social or cultural categoricalIntegration - where social categories refer to family, kin, localdependencies etc.

Therefore a first aspect of the challenge of social and culturalintegration and individualisation points to a contradictionbetween categorical social integration and late modernindividual social integration.


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Europe

3rd Conclusion:

In classical industrial but also in late modernSocieties), social inequality creates constellations ofdisadvantagein which structural lack of resources andOpportunities interacts with individual orientations and coping

strategies. Ethnic minority youths and young Migrants areespecially affected of such constellations.

Different policies, measures and programmes in Europe,developed in the context of different modes of integration,have been focusing on several of these disadvantage

structures in order to promote social, educational,vocational/professional and cultural integration of thesesgroups.


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Europe

4th Conclusion:

As a result of our research work (Up2Youth, 2009), we mayconclude that after many years experimenting with the social,and professional integration of migrants in Europe in thecontext of very different Integration Modes, and after decadesof intensive efforts towards the educational and professional

integration of young people of first and second generation insome countries (e.g. Germany; The Netherlands; Austria; UK,etc.), the situation of young migrants and ethnic minorityyouths can be characterised as a precarious balance betweenpartial inclusion and partial marginalisation (e.g. from labour

market and vocational training). This situation is especiallyproblematic for second and third generation migrants whowere already born and raised in the host countries, as itcauses them severe identity problems.


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Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in

EU- Europe

5th Conclusion:

The conscious decision of many young migrants to take upvocational training under the rather marginalising structuralcircumstances of today seems the most appropriate andpromising coping strategy available to them.

Vocational training not only serves the purpose of long-termmaterial reproduction, but also enhances the possibilities toparticipate in the different late modern European societies. Itis a valuable support in the process of emancipation from theirfamilies of origin, it stabilises the self-esteem, fosters socialcontact, choice of a partner included, and it opens up

perspectives for the future. Thus, successfully finishing vocational training can be seen

also as successful coping with the task of accomplishing anidentity, and growing up.


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EU- Europe

6th. Conclusion:

We may also conclude that for adolescent migrants not yet fulfillingthe requirements to enter their desired career, the transition fromschool to work have to be interpreted rather as trajectories (as theconcept is employed by Roberts 1995)[1] than as biographisation.

The transitions in question are largely determined by structuralfactors, allocation on the job market depending mostly on socialand ethno-cultural factors than on individual action or control.Changes on the labour market induced by technological progresshave had very little positive impact (in the sense of improving youngmigrants job perspectives), since the gap between personal

ambitions and actual chances of realisation is still decisive. For thisgroup of youngsters and young adults, choices are still limited andtheir access to the job market depends strongly on the localsituation.

[1] In Biggart, A., Furlong, A. (1996), p. 16.


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EU- Europe

7th. Conclusion:

More reflexive, that is post - structuralize perspectives, whichdescribe successful transitions in terms of individual skills,such as the ability to negotiate their own biographies,construct alternatives, and evaluate social and job-relatedopportunities and risks, may apply to the few better qualifiedmigrant youths.

For the majority of foreign adolescents and young adults, ifreflection takes place, it will most likely be on a cultural level,in building and negotiating patchwork identities. This processseems to run parallel to the social and professional inclusion

or exclusion. Summing up: the transitions from school toapprenticeship and work still carry the traditionalcharacteristics of industrial societies.


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EU- Europe

8th. and last Conclusion:If one considers the situation of structural, school-related, andsocial disadvantage young migrants are confronted with withindifferent European societies, and if, furthermore, onerecognises the positive consequences in both personal and

social respect, of a successful professional training, toovercome marginalisation effects, one has to reach theconclusion that in the future promotion measures and supportfor social sub-systems have to be further intensified.Moreover, the experiences gathered by institutions ofpromotion for young labour migrants have to be taken intoconsideration and, wherever advisable, to further reflect uponand elaborate pedagogical concepts of interculturality.

migrant and ethnic minority youths in europe challenges for integration

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