National symbolic capital in a multinational environment. An exploratory study of symbolic boundaries at a European school in Brussels

Education, Europeanization and Europe’s social integration. An introduction

“…In this way, the authors argue, a status hierarchy is reproduced between students (with Scandinavian students enjoying a positive reputation and Eastern European students a more negative one), one that conforms to a more general distribution of the symbolic capital attributed to certain countries and nations. Thus, Drewski, Gerhards, and Hans (2018) conclude that even in such highly Europeanized educational contexts, it seems that national forms of identification and classification persevere, creating symbolic distinctions that elevate the status of some while lowering it for others.…”

“…Moving from the geographical outskirts close to the heart of the EU, the study by Drewski, Gerhards, and Hans (2018) focuses on a European School in Brussels. This type of school is there to provide the children of EU employees with a multicultural and multilingual education, thus effectively aiming at the creation of future "Europeans."…”

“…Furthermore, it seems necessary to find out more about why the Europeanization of education seems to promote Europe's social integration only in a limited way, if at all. One important answer to this seems to be the enduring potency of national structures and "heritages," perceived in a broad sense, as indicated by Carlson (2018), Drewski, Gerhards, and Hans (2018) and Hoenig (2018). Rather than taking place in an empty societal space, the Europeanization of education occurs in one already filled by contrasting notions of what education is supposed to be and to achieve.…”

Does It Pay Off? Understanding Subjective Employment Mobility of European Physicians in Germany

“…Those migrating for career-related reasons are triggered by the intention to find not only a job to earn money but also a good job with good prospects, especially if they are high skilled (Favell 2008). The importance of finding adequate employment is also shown by recent research on high-skilled emigration from Southern Europe before and during the European economic and fiscal crisis (Bartolini, Gropas and Triandafyllidou 2017).…”

“…Migrants’ motivations to move within the European Union reflect the importance of labor-related mobility and show how opportunities for work-related mobility are, indeed, used by EU citizens (Bartolini, Gropas and Triandafyllidou 2017; Castro-Martín and Cortina 2015; Favell 2008). Despite increased diversity in reasons for intra-EU migration (Santacreu, Baldoni and Albert 2009), economic and career-related migration reasons, such as better job prospects or hopes for upward social mobility, remain significant, especially for high-skilled migrants (Favell 2008). However, the question of whether intra-EU migrants do, indeed, improve their occupational situations through migration still stands.…”