An ethnographic approach to school engagement in immigration contexts: the role of sociability dynamics

Abstract

This article reviews some key contributions based on ethnographic and qualitative research on the school engagement experiences and dynamics of children living in contexts of ethno-cultural diversity and social inequality shaped by migration flows. More concretely, it is analysed the impact of school climate and sociability dynamics (both between pupils and adults, and among peers). We argue that the attentive incorporation of the ethnographic perspective in this field is essential and enriches both theoretically and methodologically the traditional psychological approaches from which the concept of school attachment has been approached and measured.