Özge Bilgili

To return permanently or to return temporarily? Explaining migrants’ intentions

This paper explores migrants’ intentions to return to their origin country on either a permanent or temporary basis. The issue of return has played a key role in the debate on migration and development, but the role of temporary return in this process has seldom been addressed. We expand on the notion of return as an event or process that can be either permanent or temporary in nature, with both forms of return contributing to development processes. Using survey data from Afghan, Burundian, Ethiopian and Moroccan migrants in The Netherlands (N = 2745), we study how migrants’ experiences in countries of origin and destination are linked to their return intentions. We show that there are significantly more people interested in temporary than permanent return. Plus, while economic integration has no clear link with return intentions, individuals with lower socio-cultural integration are more likely to intend to return permanently. Moreover, social engagement in the homeland consistently positively relates to intentions for all types of return. Considering the potential positive impact of (temporary) return on development, this research provides insight into the profile of potential return migrants who could be facilitated to return by programs and policies that promote return for development.

Migrants’ Multi-Sited Social Lives

This paper challenges the assimilationist assumption that suggests migrants cannot be simultaneously embedded in multiple societies. Based on survey data collected among Afghan, Burundian, Ethiopian and Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands, the paper shows that overall sociocultural integration in the Netherlands and sociocultural homeland engagement are significantly positively correlated. Moreover, it demonstrates that migrants with more contact with their co-ethnics in the Netherlands tend to engage more in sociocultural activities oriented towards their home country. Besides, the influence of favourable political and security situations and economic prospects in the home countries is brought to the fore in relation to migrant groups’ sociocultural homeland engagement. The paper consequently highlights the prevalence of transnational ways of living and calls for theoretical adjustments in line with migrants’ multi-sited social lives and more inclusive policy approaches that recognize the relevance of dual-citizenship in this contemporary context.

Economic Integration to Send Money Back Home

This article investigates the links between economic integration and remittances sending behavior through the cases of Afghan, Burundian, Ethiopian, and Moroccan first generation migrants in the Netherlands. The analysis demonstrates that economically-better-integrated migrants, especially those with secure employment, are significantly more likely to remit, remit more, and remit more for investment purposes rather than consumption. Consequently, I challenge the assimilationist perspective on the links between economic integration and homeland engagement, emphasize the significance of dual-engagement, and discuss the implications of this research for integration and development policy.

Transnationalism in a Comparative Perspective: An Introduction

Since the publication of ‘Nations Unbound’ (Basch et al 1994), studies on transnationalism have mushroomed. Despite ongoing debates about the nature of the concept, and the newness of the phenomenon, there is a growing consensus about the importance of taking into account migrants’ multi-stranded social ties which link together societies of origin and settlement. There is also a strong push to move away from ‘methodological nationalism’ in order to better understand the manifold ties, identifications and activities of migrants and non-migrants across international borders (Wimmer & Glick Schiller 2002; Vertovec 2009). The first generation of transnational studies focused strongly on transnational practices, such as economic transnationalism (including remittances), political transnationalism (social movements, diaspora politics), and identity formation, social remittances and ethnic entrepreneurship (see e.g. Guarnizo et al 2003; Khagram & Levitt 2008). While many of these studies were based in the immigration-receiving context of the United States (see e.g. Portes et al 1999; Itzighsohn and Saucedo 2002; Waldinger and Fitzgerald 2004), soon after transnationalism theory was also incorporated into European migration studies (Snel et al 2006; De Haas & Fokkema 2011; Erdal & Oeppen 2013). The European context offers highly relevant research sites for transnational studies, mainly because many of the EU countries today can be considered immigration countries with considerably large permanent migrant groups and continuous inflows that create new connections with diverse countries of origin. In relation to this, it is important to mention that the European Union (EU) 2004 and 2007 enlargements created a borderless zone that boosted existing transnational patterns within the EU and generated complex new ones. Moreover, European welfare states offer particular structural conditions for both

From Economic to Political Engagement: Analysing the Changing Role of the Turkish Diaspora

In the past, Turkey was a key source country for labour migration to Europe, supplying countries such as Germany and the Netherlands with a wealth of low-skilled labour. The picture today has changed. The flow of immigrants from middle-income Turkey to Europe has subsided, and there is now a large Turkish diaspora, particularly in Germany. Migration dynamics in and from Turkey have changed substantially over the past 60 years, producing a vast diaspora that could be engaged to a greater extent in Turkey’s domestic affairs. There are currently an estimated 3 million Turkish nationals living in the European Union (EU) (Hecker, 2006), with a majority of these (2 million) residing in Germany. While other countries are doing their best to court their diaspora and see what their migrants or even second generation abroad can contribute back home, Turkey has taken a different approach and has a particularly different approach to emigrants. The early years of Turkish migration policy were characterized by a focus on economic remittances and return migration. Turkey now views its diaspora as citizens of Europe, legitimizing Turkey’s claim to EU citizenship. Through the analysis of policies and institutions made in this chapter, we are able to demonstrate this change.

Cross-Cultural Approaches to Mitigating the Immigrant Student Performance Disadvantage

Human migration continues to be an important aspect of our global society. Nevertheless, the flow of migrants is changing and the shift in migration patterns are resulting in significant challenges for school systems around the world. Building on the previous chapters presented in this book, this final chapter provides a summary of the experiences of different education jurisdictions to address the changing landscape of immigrant children in schools. These experiences have resulted in a variety of educational policies and practices to support immigrant children and educators. The subsequent analysis of the preceding chapters identified some of the existing barriers to effective immigrant education policy as well as promising policies and practices that appear to be mitigating the commonly found immigrant student disadvantage. Along with first and second language support, these practices suggest a continued focus on social integration, acceptance of cultural diversity, and equity efforts. Collectively, these policies appear to harken back to some of the seminal work of Ogbu and his efforts to understand the achievement gaps found for sub-populations of students. As a final word, the chapter highlights the potential to enhance the educational outcomes of immigrant students and our continuing need to further our research efforts and educational initiatives to meet the needs of all of our students.

Immigrant Student Achievement and the Performance Disadvantage

Education is a human right, and among the indicators of human development, education is indisputably one of the most important ones for its impact both on individuals’ lives as well as on communities and countries at large. Despite its evident importance, it cannot be taken for granted that everyone has access to (high quality) education. Equality and equity in access to education is a priority policy issue not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. In this era of knowledge based economy, the extent to which countries are able to provide high quality education (however it may be defined) to all members of their society is a significant predictor of economic growth and socioeconomic development. Within this context, identifying the disadvantaged groups within the student population and finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of these disadvantages while at the same time targeting the students with special support needs are crucial policy objectives. The objective of this book is to focus on the case of a growing and diverse group, namely students with a migration background. We seek to examine the extent to which immigrant students are integrated to education systems in their new settlement countries, whether their relative achievement in schools require special attention in comparison with their native peers, and how the receiving countries with diverse immigrant populations deal with challenges related to immigrant student achievement in their education policy.