Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers – processes of subject formation and feelings of belonging in the context of educational experiences in Switzerland

Abstract

Abstract. This article addresses unaccompanied minor asylum seekers' (UAMs) educational experiences in Switzerland. Drawing on ethnographic research we explore what it means for UAMs to get an education and how having access or not having access to particular forms and spaces of education plays a part in the process of their subject formations. We get insights into such processes in diverse spaces of education and in phases of transition between them. We point out how educational arrangements can produce feelings of belonging and non-belonging and highlight that these feelings are entangled with life experiences and the responsibilities of UAMs in their daily lives in Switzerland. We argue that although at first glance the category "unaccompanied minor asylum seeker" seems to dominate and determine the formation of a possible educational subject and feelings of belonging for UAMs, the subject formation and feelings of belonging in the highly regulated field of UAMs' education are far more complex and fluid. To capture this complexity, we draw on geographies of education and understand spaces of education as connected to other spaces as UAMs' learning and educational processes are entangled with the demands of their everyday lives.

Recognition in the lives of unaccompanied children and youth: A review of the key European literature

“…The feeling of belonging as a valuable and active member in a community contributes to the solidarity form of recognition. A wish for recognition as an active member of a community was evident in many studies in this review (Bitzi & Landolt, 2017; Chase, 2013; Eide et al, 2018; Herz, 2019; Herz & Lalander, 2017; Hopkins & Hill, 2010; Kalverboer et al, 2017; Ní Raghallaigh, 2011; O'Toole Thommessen et al, 2017; Pastoor, 2017; Sedmak & Medarić, 2017; Sirriyeh & Ní Raghallaigh, 2018; Wernesjö, 2015). Whereas for some participants of the studies this wish ultimately became a reality, many others experienced misrecognition through the stereotypical and/or racist views of local people, professionals, co‐workers or bosses.…”

“…Several young people noted that even though they were surrounded by people, they missed their families and friends and wished to have someone in their lives they could lean on and trust (Bjerneld, Ismail, & Puthoopparambil, 2018; Chase, 2013; Deveci, 2012; Eide et al, 2018; Eriksson & Hedberg Rundgren, 2019; Gustafsson et al, 2012; Herz & Lalander, 2017; Lundberg & Dahlquist, 2012; Ní Raghallaigh, 2011, 2014; Ní Raghallaigh & Gilligan, 2010; Omland & Andenas, 2018; O'Toole Thommessen et al, 2015; O'Toole Thommessen, Corcoran, & Todd, 2017; Pastoor, 2015, 2017; Wernesjö, 2015). Many of the studies also illustrated how some of the participants had little or no contact with local residents outside their living units (Gustafsson et al, 2012; Herz & Lalander, 2017; Lundberg & Dahlquist, 2012; O'Toole Thommessen et al, 2017; Pastoor, 2017; Sedmak & Medarić, 2017; Wernesjö, 2015), despite their desire to make connections and form friendships with people in the local community (Bitzi & Landolt, 2017; Omland & Andenas, 2018; Pastoor, 2017; Sedmak & Medarić, 2017; Wernesjö, 2015). Some were not able to create trusting relationships, even after living in the host country for years (Ní Raghallaigh, 2014), which may add to their feelings of displacement (Wernesjö, 2015) and constrain feelings of self‐confidence.…”

Being inside out: the slippery slope between inclusion and exclusion in a Swiss educational project for unaccompanied refugee youth

“…I agree with the growing body of research on unaccompanied refugee youth that has pointed out the crucial potential of education in creating pathways into society (e.g. Chase and Statham 2013;Connolly 2015;Bitzi and Landolt 2017). However, by taking my cue from scholars that have shown the exclusionary dynamics underwriting many contemporary educational systems (e.g.…”

Introduction to the special issue “Young People and New Geographies of Learning and Education”

“…They argue that immigrant youth are likely to be affected by translocal lives and experience complex intersections of educational transitions and migration (e.g. Robertson et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2014;Tse and Waters, 2013;Brooks et al, 2012;Bitzi and Landolt, 2017, in this special issue). Patrick Rérat's article draws on rich empirical material from Switzerland and addresses internal migration that occurs during the transition from higher education to the labour market.…”

“…Such an approach helps to focus on questions that address power relations on various scales and in various encounters that produce spaces and identities of learning and education (e.g. Bauer, 2015;Kraftl, 2013;Landolt, 2013;Bitzi and Landolt, 2017, in this special issue; Laketa and Suleymanova, 2017, in this special issue). This approach puts places of learning in relation to other places of formal and informal learning and education (Leander et al, 2010;Valentine, 2000;Hörschelmann, 2018, in this special issue).…”