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Conference Program

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

H.15. Migrant-background Youth in Education: the Role of Policy and Practice in (Re)producing and Challenging Inequalities (1/2)
Location: Scienze Politiche (CU002): Aula A

Convenor(s): Berenice Scandone (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy); Giulia Marroccoli (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy)

Presentation 3

Global Parents Rearing Global Children. The Role of Children’s Education in Family Migration Decision-making.

Marta Cristina Azaola¹, Jay de los Reyes², Chun Hong Yan³

1: University of Southampton, United Kingdom; 2: University of Southampton, United Kingdom; 3: University of Southampton, United Kingdom

This paper examines the role of children’s education in the lives of migrant families. The study includes both low- and high‑skilled migrants who moved either to secure better futures or to improve their career prospects abroad. Ten parents from four Asian countries, all living in the UK, participated in in‑depth interviews. Guided by migration network theory and concepts of social and ethnic capital, the study is framed around four UN Sustainable Development Goals: living conditions in the host country (Goal 1), quality of education (Goal 4), girls’ education and opportunities (Goal 5), and expectations for children’s future employability (Goal 8).

Findings show that parents value the UK’s student‑centred, inclusive approach, which they see as superior to the exam‑driven systems in their home countries. Families benefit from free, high‑quality public education, which would often require costly private schooling back home. Children’s schooling also strengthens parent‑child relationships and expands families’ social networks through school engagement, enhancing their family and community belonging. Overall, regardless of socioeconomic background, children in migrant families become globally oriented learners equipped to compete in the global economy.