Migrant children and youth: realities, challenges and possibilities for educational equity and social justice.
This Symposium aims to open a space for reflection and discussion on how the structural and emerging inequities among migrant children and youth operate in different educational contexts.
The discussion on the education of migrant children and youth is necessary and relevant. Education is a basic human right that, when founded on diversity and based on principles of equity, becomes a tool to build resilience, social cohesion and trust. However, research shows us that, to a large extent, migrants often have difficulties obtaining full access to education, as they are often torn between inclusion processes, legal barriers or discrimination.
With this Symposium we want to contribute to this important discussion by providing a transnational approach, based on the reality of two countries – Spain and the United States of America – and focused on the current complex post-pandemic moment.
This meeting is organised by the Nodes research group of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, and is linked to the project Crossing borders to connect routes: Researching with educational communities to promote equity and fight against racism towards immigrants in a post-pandemic world, founded by the Spencer Foundation and promoted by 6 universities in 5 countries.
International Symposium
June 6, 2023 at 11 a.m – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Sala polivalente Can Jaumandreu – C/ del Perú, 52, 08018 Barcelona
PROGRAMA
11:00 Welcome address by professors Amalia Creus and Adriana Ornellas, coordinators of the Crossing Borders project.
11:20 Lecture ‘Experiences of Activists Mediating the Politics of Immigration Reform‘, by Professor Colette Dauite, from the City University of New York.
12:00 Lecture ‘Migrant Children and Youth in a Transforming Europe‘, by Professor Juana Sancho, emeritus professor at the University of Barcelona.
12:40 – 13:00 Discussion and closing remarks
COLETTE DAIUTE
Professor of Psychology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Colette Daiute researches, writes, and teaches on development and social change among individuals and collectives in extremely challenging and changing environments. Her research focuses on the interrelated social, cognitive, and emotional development of children, youth, and adults in adverse global systems, such as displacement, political violence, culture shock, and economic inequality.
Experiences of Activists Mediating the Politics of Immigration Reform
Two decades of stalemate on immigration reform by the United States Congress has led to stranding millions of young people to the shadows of public life in the only home most have ever known. Within contemporary transnational circumstances of mass displacement by war, climate change, poverty, and inequality, a specific group of children brought to the U.S. illegally have been deemed worthy to remain by all sides of political division. In spite of such agreement, these “Dreamers” (as they are called) have been the subject of political reversals for over a decade. To provide a reprieve from deportation, the Obama administration implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy in 2012, a policy reversed by the Trump administration in 2017, and followed to by conflicting legal actions to the present day. This talk presents a brief history of DACA and the ensuing political wrangling. The focus of the talk is on the perspectives of activists in non-governmental organisations, legal clinics, and grassroots community groups who work with DACA-relevant youth.
JUANA MARIA SANCHO GIL
Emeritus Professor of Educational Technologies at the University of Barcelona. She has been a teacher of infant, primary and secondary education. She has coordinated the ESBRINA research group: http://esbrina.eu and the network of excellence REUNI + D: http://reunid.eu. Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of the State of Mexico. She continues to try to build bridges between theory and practice, research and action, while contributing to the rethinking of discourses and visions on the meaning of education in today’s world.
Migrant Children and Youth in a Transforming Europe
This lecture is based on the MiCREATE project, whose main purpose is to explore and stimulate the inclusion of migrant children and young people in the educational and social systems of Europe. The conference presents results of the field work carried out in 16 educational centers in Spain, in contact with teachers, families, students, members of the educational community and political leaders. In particular, aspects related to the crucial role of families in the social and educational experiences of their children in the host country will be addressed, focusing on two main axes: (1) the difficulties faced by migrant families to get involved in school life, such as culture shocks, school segregation, the environment of migrant families and the difference between elementary school and secondary schools; (2) more general and specific initiatives that facilitate the participation of migrant families in school life.
ATTENDANCE
The Symposium is aimed at all audiences: academics, professionals and the educational community in general. Admission is free and places are limited. A certificate of attendance will be issued to those who request it. Registration must be done at the following link: