Summary

Several studies show that the world witnesses the era of unprecedented human mobility. A large number of people, particularly youth, migrate internationally. The international migrant population in Southern Africa is constantly in flux. In South Africa there is a significant struggle for the provision basic social and educational services to the international migrants and this area has not been rigorously explored both in practice and research. The international migrant population have challenges around access to basic education compared to their native peers. It is from this background that this study aimed to explore barriers towards furthering of education amongst migrant youth in South Africa. A qualitative approach with a case study design were used to purposefully select ten (10) migrant youth (5 males and 5 females) in Musina town. Semi-structured individual interviews were used to collect data which was analysed thematically through the assistance of Nvivo software. Findings show that migrant youth are willing pursue studies in South Africa but due to barriers, such as; lack of motivation, unawareness of their constitutional rights to education and local language competency they are unable to do so. It is thus imperative that the education sector in South Africa be robustly empowered about immigration policies on the rights of immigrants’ access to education so as to develop multicultural pedagogies and curricula.

Keywords (separate with commas)

access to education, barrier, immigration policy, migrant youth, South Africa

Summary

Background: The 'best interest of the child' is a guiding principle in Child and Youth Welfare. It's the specific task of the child welfare system and social work to assess and ensure the child's best interest, especially when biological parents cannot meet such needs – for instance, due to the physical separation of displaced children and their parents.\ Aim: This presentation discusses how the child's best interest is considered with regard to diverse transnational family relationships of displaced unaccompanied minors (UMs) in Germany. Principles of ‘the best interest of the child’ and social work principles with UMs will first be outlined before focusing on their implementation in practice.Method: The presentation is based on a thorough literature review and grounded theory analysis (Charmaz, 2014) of qualitative interviews with (former) UMs (n=12), social workers and pedagogical staff (n=20), and experts (n=3).\ Results:\ Despite the highly developed Child Protection System in Germany and the provision of various forms of support for UMs, findings point towards a lack of support concerning UMs' transnational family relationships.\ Parents in countries of origin or transit countries are only, in some cases, involved in social work interventions.\ In providing a rationale for their interventions, social workers referred to UMs' helplessness, personal experiences, organizational routines, and requirements. Social work approaches did not explicitly consider the principle of ‘the best interest of the child,’ theoretical foundations, or empirical justifications.Conclusions and Implications: Findings concerning the existing research examining "the best interest of the child" regarding UMs and family involvement are discussed. Based on empirical, theoretical, legal, and ethical considerations, it will be highlighted in what way the "best interest of children" and the role of the family abroad could better be considered in the case of UMs.\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

unaccompanied minors, transnational families, ‘best interest of the child,’ qualitative research, social work in Germany

Summary

Since 2010, there has been a considerable surge in violent conflicts across the world, leading to historically high levels of refugees globally, and majority of whom are located in the global South. The latest data from UNHCR (2022) reveal a staggering 108.4 million people, who have been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. More recently, the war in Ukraine has caused the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe.Drawing on research with refugees and humanitarian practitioners and policy makers in Jordan, Uganda and Bangladesh, this paper explores methodological considerations and ethical challenges involved in researching refugees. The presentation will briefly touch on key research findings from a study on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and examine the importance of generating ethically sound research for supporting evidence-informed health responses to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. It will reflect on ways to develop more inclusive collaborative partnerships that promotes co-creation of knowledge. The paper will reflect on the importance of an ethically sound, rights-based approach to research that involves engagement with multiple stakeholders early on to support evidence-informed inter-sectoral policy and practice priorities to enhance outcomes for those who we research.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Refugees, research methodologies, ethics, global South, co-production of knowledge\