The theme of the seminar is how ‘generation’ in its multiple meanings – immigration generation, family generation and social ‘cohort’ generation - is significant for educational strategies of migrants and their descendants.

13.00 - 14.20 Maurice Crul:  Pathways to Success. The Second Generation in Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands.

14.20 - 14.30 Short break

14.30 - 15.10 Laura Gilliam: The Danish ‘Second Generation’ – Generational and other Relational Dynamics

15.10 - 15.50 Bolette Moldenhawer:  Migration and Educational Strategies

15.50-16.00 Short break

16.00 - 16.40 Mikkel Rytter: Marriage in the Ruins of War. Intergenerational Hauntings among Afghan Refugees

16.40-17.00 General discussion

Abstracts

Pathways to Success. The Second Generation in Germany, France, Sweden and the Netherlands

Maurice Crul, Professor, Sociology, Free University Amsterdam

Research on children of immigrants has focused mostly on the group that has been unsuccessful in school or in the labour market. The group that is however successful against all odds is growing. In this presentation Maurice Crul will show, based on the outcomes of the ERC project Elites, the substantial differences in pathways to success for Turkish second generation adolescents in four countries: Germany, France, Sweden and The Netherlands. The project findings are drawn from a large survey on the second generation in Europe (TIES) and 180 in-depth interviews with successful professionals. The intergenerational mobility of this group is explained by the so-called multiplier effect. With each consecutive step in their school and labour market careers they gain new social and cultural capital to make the next step in their career.

The Danish ‘Second Generation’ – Generational and other Relational Dynamics

Laura Gilliam, Associate Professor, School of Education, Aarhus University

Describing a tendency to first generation aspiration and second generation decline, much research on migration and education has suggested a relation between migrant generation and stances towards education. To explain the disappointing situation of second generation children and youth, the studies have highlighted their common experiences of discrimination, futile aspirations, relative deprivation, as well as the significance of frames of reference, reactive ethnicity, counter-cultural forms ect. Based on several ethnographic studies of second-generation minority Danes in Danish schools, this presentation will examine whether these explanations help us understand the situation in Denmark and how various other factors such as gender, age, relations to teachers, group dynamics in the school class, the neighborhood and pan-ethnic communities effect the educational strategies of these children and youth.

Migration and Educational Strategies

Bolette Moldenhawer, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, Copenhagen University

In this paper, educational strategies among immigrant youngsters will be analyzed in a transnational and comparative perspective. Based on empirical studies from the last three decades, the aim of the paper is to illuminate the patterns of educational strategies in relation to changing social, cultural and symbolic societal forces. Empirical samples from my comparative studies, including immigrant youngsters from Sweden and France will be included in the discussion.

Marriage in the Ruins of War: Intergenerational Hauntings among Afghan Refugees

Mikkel Rytter, Associate Professor, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University

Afghan refugees residing in Denmark constitute a group whose members have all played a part in the recent history of Afghanistan, one marked by war, flight and upheaval. To some extent, this turbulent past has now been left behind. They may not be able to forget what has happened to them, but these Afghans do try to get on with their lives and benefit from the opportunities they have been given in their new country. However, the recent history, conflicts and atrocities related to the war in Afghanistan often seem to be re-articulated and expressed anew when the upcoming generation are ready for marriage. In this respect, the families are haunted by the past.
Based on 29 interviews conducted with younger Afghan men about partner choice and marriage this paper discuss how conflictual pasts are transmitted and dealt with between generations in diaspora.