Migration intentions of rural youth in the Westhoek, Flanders, Belgium and the Veenkoloniën, The Netherlands

‘Should I stay or should I leave my home region?’ is one of the key life course questions that many young people must address as they grow to maturity. Social mobility increasingly presupposes geographical mobility, especially in rural areas. The consequences of the selective out-migration of socially mobile young people (‘brain drain’) are seen as a threat to the economic development and reputation of rural areas. The out-migration of young rural people is often related to participation in higher education and entrance into the labour market. This paper focuses on the migration intentions of pupils in secondary education in two peripheral rural areas: The Westhoek in Flanders, Belgium and the Veenkoloniën in the Netherlands. It analyses, by means of logistic regression analysis, the migration intentions of 611 pupils in the Westhoek and 294 pupils in the Veenkoloniën in relation to their social background, migration history, perceptions of employment opportunities and the way they identify with their home region. In both regions, perceived employment opportunities and local attachment appear to be the most important factors explaining migration intentions. In the Veenkoloniën, in contrast with the Westhoek, migration history, educational level and representations of the region are also important factors determining the migration intentions of young people. These results can be explained by differences in the structure, culture and landscape of the two regions.     

Should I stay or should I go? Migration expectations among youth in Icelandic fishing and farming communities

Social mobility presupposes geographical mobility in many rural areas. Migration decisions feature prominently in the lives of rural adolescents, and the viability of local communities often hangs in the balance. As in many other rural areas, the majority of adolescents in Icelandic fishing and farming communities expect to live somewhere else in the future. An analysis of national surveys in 1992 and 2003 reveal that perceptions of occupational opportunities are by far the strongest predictor of migration intentions, and they fully account for gender differences in this regard. Other significant predictors of wanting to stay include being raised in the community, parental support and parental control, and interest in working in the primary industry. Parental education is associated with increased migration intentions, but this effect operates through other factors. In the early 1990s, parental involvement in the primary industry and well-being in school predicted migration intentions, but these issues no longer appeared to be a factor in the early 2000s. Finally, adolescents who identify strongly with the local community and are more proud of their nationality are less likely to expect to migrate. These results are discussed in the context of changing social identities in an increasingly global culture.     

‘The brainy ones are leaving’: the subtlety of (un)cool places through the eyes of rural youth

The aim of this paper is to study place dynamics in relationships between academically-oriented young people and their local rural places. With point of departure in rural settings with less obvious flagship attractions and cultural assets compared to urban high amenity settings, the paper contributes to the limited literature on the perception of place among academically-oriented youth, who in future potentially belong to the professional category of knowledge workers. Addressing identity, place and the concept of cool in relation to rural youth, we analyse the ?ndings from 23 qualitative, in-depth interviews conducted with 49 young people in secondary education in two rural regions of Denmark to identify place dynamics in the relationships between these young people and their local places. The paper adds to the youth literature by demonstrating how rural youth produce, articulate and maintain identities and visions for desired futures with aspirations for urban lifestyles. Findings show that the interviewed youth's relationships to their local rural place are characterised by con?icting feelings of attachment, detachment, pride and entrapment, and that such feelings reflect on identity construction and seem to play an important role for future migration intentions.     

Rich dad,poor dad: the impact of family background on educated young people’s migration from peripheral China

Along with its rapid economic growth, economic inequality rises and intergenerational mobility declines in China. Meanwhile, significant growth in HEIs’ enrolment has contributed to major migration flows across the country. This research investigates the impact of family background on the migration location choice of educated young people from peripheral China, based on data from a life-course survey of recent graduates of tertiary education institutions originating from Chaohu, China. Logistic models are employed to analyse young people’s migration to receive higher education, whether inside or outside the home province, and the location trajectories afterwards. While the findings confirm the association between university and post-university location choice, substantial interaction effects are found between location choice and family background. Young people from different family backgrounds adopt different strategies of geographical mobility in their transition to adulthood. In particular, young people from privileged families are more likely to leave the home province for higher education and return after graduation, whereas those from underprivileged families are more likely to study within the home province and then move away.     

Talking to Strangers: an Overview of an Independent Representation Project in Northern Ireland

SUMMARY: In 1990 the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO) launched a new initiative designed to complement the various support mechanisms currently available to those young people involved in the juvenile justice and child care systems in Northern Ireland. The Independent Representation Project involves young people in secure accommodation ‘talking to strangers’, that is, people who are independent of the institution, about any concerns they may have. This article describes this initiative and in particular reflects on its development since the appointment of the author as Project Coordinator.     

Negotiating Identity and Belonging: Migration Narratives of Protestants from Northern Ireland

This article draws on the migration narratives of Protestants from Northern Ireland, examining the impact of migration on issues of identity and belonging, particularly in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict. The life narratives were collected during the course of two studies relating to contemporary migration from Northern Ireland (2004-2007). The author concludes that the insecurity of Protestant identity continues to influence the significant migration rate of young middle class Protestants, most of whom are unlikely to return to live in Northern Ireland.     

Female marital mobility within Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: a log-linear analysis

A series of log-linear models predicting the exchange marital experiences of Irish wives are prevented for the Irish Republic. The best explanatory model is one in which the relationship between a husband's occupational status and that of his father-in-law remains homogeneous across age levels, Women show a marked propensity to marry husbands at a similar occupational status as that of their fathers and long-range upward or downward mobility across the manual/nonmanual divide is unlikely. This tendency towards endogamy is particularly pronounced within the two upper non-manual categories and the manual strata generally the same general model of homogeneous association holds for Northern Ireland across age levels and religious affiliation. In the North, however, more short-range mobility occurs, particularly between the two upper non-manual groups. Despite this the norm for both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland is marital immobility rather than marital mobility with no evidence of a fundamental trend towards increased marital mobility. Furthermore. The mobility through marriage that did occur does not result in an overall net advantage for women.     

‘It's their word against mine’: young people's attitudes to the police complaints procedure in Northern Ireland

One of the central aims of the police reform process in Northern Ireland has been to increase the legitimacy of the policing structures and police officers amongst those who are served and policed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). To meet this aim, structures have been created to ensure that the PSNI is accountable to all sections of the community for its strategy and performance, and in monitoring the attitudes and behaviour of its officers. To that end, the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI), the Northern Ireland Policing Board and 26 District Policing Partnerships have been created. This paper aims to break ground by looking in some detail at young people's attitudes to and experiences of the workings of one of those new bodies, the Police Ombudsman, and to explore issues related to young people's willingness to engage with the PONI.     

Class,place and mobility beyond the global city: stigmatisation and the cosmopolitanisation of the local

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on a multi-sited qualitative study of youth in regional Australia to explore the contemporary relationship between class, place attachment, and the imperative towards mobility and cosmopolitanism. The paper shows how local classed identities shape how young people situate themselves and their localities in relation to the rest of the world, and how experiences of mobility produce classed attachments to place. Here, place is made meaningful within the broader cultural politics of inequality in neoliberalism, in which the moral denigration of figures of the working class come to stand for the disadvantage currently associated with regional places. However local classed histories offer some young people the capacity for resistance, whilst others are unable to reframe their localities in positive terms. Moreover, whilst cosmopolitanism is a mode of classed distinction across the two research sites, this can be enacted either through practices of mobility, or through the repositioning of the local in cosmopolitan terms through the identity practices of middle-class youth. The paper therefore reveals new ways in which local social and economic histories offer young people different ways in which to relate to notions of mobility as well as to reconstruct the meaning of their home.     

Rural communities and well‐being: a good place to grow up?

This study looks at young people's accounts of life in communities in rural northern Scotland, and considers in what ways affective and social aspects of community are bound up with well‐being, over and above young people's concerns for the future, rural youth transitions, and out‐migration. Interviews were held with 15–18 year‐olds in four study areas (16 groups, N=60+) and a parallel survey of 11–16 year‐olds was conducted in eight study areas (N=2400+). Themes to emerge from the interviews included: opportunities locally, the future and staying on, as well as local amenities and services; but older teenagers also spoke at length about their social lives, family and social networks, and their community, both as close‐knit and caring and as intrusive and controlling. Rural communities were seen as good places in childhood, but not necessarily for young people. In parallel with that, the survey data paints a picture where feelings of support, control, autonomy, and attachment were all associated with emotional well‐being. Importantly, links between emotional well‐being and practical, material concerns were outweighed by positive identifications of community as close‐knit and caring; and equally, by negative identifications as intrusive and constraining, where the latter was felt more strongly by young women. Certainly, beliefs about future employment and educational opportunities were also linked to well‐being, but that was over and above, and independently of, affective and social aspects of community life. Additionally, migration intentions were also bound up with sense of self and well‐being, and with feelings about community life; and links between thoughts about leaving and community life as controlling and constraining were, yet again, felt more strongly by young women. Thus, gender was a key dimension affecting young people's feelings about their communities with significant implications for well‐being, and out‐migration. The study illustrates the importance of understanding the experiences young people have of growing up in rural areas, and how they evaluate those experiences: particularly, how life in rural communities matters for young people's well‐being; and especially, for young women.     

Youth on the margins in Northern Ireland,England, and Ukraine

This paper deals with the experience of the two authors working in a number of different settings. Both have been for many years practitioners using the Social Action model, Jennie in England and Eamonn in Northern Ireland. Together we have also been providing training for youth social workers in Ukraine, on issues of Social Action and empowering practice. What we attempt to do in this paper is first consider some of the issues and debates around the concept of marginalization. Then, referring to Northern Ireland, England, and Ukraine, we will provide some perspectives on the situation of young people, with examples of the mechanics of marginalization and blocks to the inclusion of young people in their societies. We hope to show that marginalization is a topical concept in all three places and that it has elements that transcend cultural and national boundaries, despite the social circumstances in Belfast, Derby, and Ukraine being very different. However, there are also aspects of the marginalization of young people that are different. Next, we will go on to describe the Social Action approach and to give some examples of how we have attempted to put the philosophy and approach into practice in three different countries and in the settings of research, practice, and training. To do this we will draw on our experience and work with young people in England and Northern Ireland and with youth social workers in Ukraine.     

Transnational youth transitions: becoming adults between Vancouver and Hong Kong

In the context of the academic interest shown in the enduring transnationalism of contemporary migrants and in the modes of transitions to adulthood in different global settings, in this article we examine the transnational lives of adolescents moving between Vancouver (Canada) and Hong Kong. While there is a lot of literature on the parents' political and economic calculations, there is very little on how adolescents in these situations articulate their geographical sensibilities. We draw on three periods of fieldwork undertaken in 2002, 2008 and 2010 during which we employed a transnational methodology to interview young people in Vancouver and Hong Kong. We argue that becoming an adult involves a process in which, in their discussions about the geographical and emotional distance between themselves and their families, young people articulate their own complex emotions towards specific places in their transnational social field. Their families sporadically interrupt the adolescents' otherwise independent lives with fragmented modes of supervision. By examining the complex intentions and emotions behind circular migration from the perspective of transnational youth in a community of split families, we advance the discussion on transnational geographies, particularly of the family in the context of a flexible global economy.     

‘All feasible measures’—Children's Rights and Violent Conflict in Northern Ireland

SUMMARY: The UK, having ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, is bound to take ‘all feasible measures' to protect children in armed conflicts; yet in its First Report on progress on the Convention, the Government barely acknowledged the impact on children and young people of violence in Northern Ireland. By contrast the Children's Rights Development Unit in its ‘alternative’ report, the ‘UK Agenda for Children’, examined in detail children's rights in Northern Ireland, and how the Government could comply with the Convention. This article describes the consultation process informing CRDU's report, and highlights the need for children's rights to be addressed as part of both healing the past and shaping the future of Northern Ireland.     

Young Norwegians and their views on climate change and the future: findings from a climate concerned and oil-rich nation

Young people represent the future, but little is known about their attitudes towards climate change, one of the most serious issues facing the world today. The purpose of the present study is to contribute with improved and new knowledge of young Norwegians’ understanding of and attitudes towards this issue, with a special focus on perspectives of the future. Of particular interest is the influence of divergent framings of the climate question in Norway, due to conflicting interests between the petroleum industry and climate concern. The young people's voices are elicited through two different surveys undertaken during the fall of 2013, one national (Norwegian Citizen Panel) and one local (School survey conducted among high-school students). The study generated both quantitative and qualitative findings, stemming from closed-ended as well as open-ended questions. The data were handled through a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results show that the voices tend to be oriented towards the opinion that Norway has a responsibility to help poor countries as well as a duty to prevent climate change and that the country should reduce its oil production. We further observe that young Norwegians have an optimistic view of the future, based on a pronounced belief in technology and science.     

Young people in a city of culture: ‘Ultimate beneficiaries’ or ‘Economic migrants’?

There is burgeoning literature on cities that host major cultural events. However, there is surprisingly very little empirical research focusing specifically on young people and cities of culture, so we have limited knowledge in terms of how young people actually experience and interpret cultural events. Given this, we offer an important and timely contribution to such debates. Our spatial focus is Derry/Londonderry (D/L) in Northern Ireland. During 2013 D/L was the UK’s inaugural City of Culture (CoC). The bid document and legacy plans for CoC stated that young people would be ‘cultural assets’ during 2013 and the ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ of the CoC legacy [Derry City Council 2010. Cracking the Code. City of Culture 2013. Derry: Derry City Council, 2013a. Our Legacy Promise. Building on the Success of 2013. Derry: Derry City Council, 2013b. Legacy Plan 2013–2023. Derry: Derry City Council]. This paper unpacks and analyses the extent to which young people in D/L related to and engaged with CoC and, arguably more importantly, how CoC affected their plans and aspirations for the future. Our research problematises the claim that young people were the ‘ultimate beneficiaries’ of CoC; most strikingly, it shows that young people, despite offering very positive views, both expect and desire to live in cities other than D/L. As such, the debilitating long-standing trend of economic migration of young people will continue raising important issues for local stakeholders.     

A future agenda for research on climate change and human mobility

In the past 15 years, research activities focusing on the interlinkages between climate change and human mobility have intensified. At the same time, an increasing number of actors and processes have sought to address human mobility in the context of climate change from a policy perspective. Hitherto, research has been limited in terms of geographical preferences as well as conceptual and methodological focus areas. This paper argues that to address the evolving policy space, future research on climate change in the context of human mobility needs to become more differentiated, integrated and generalized. This includes concerted efforts to better integrate researchers from the global South, improved cross-linkages between different datasets, approaches and disciplines, more longitudinal and comparative studies and development of innovative qualitative and quantitative methods.     

Symbolic violence and the neighbourhood: the educational aspirations of 7-8 year old working-class girls

This article focuses on the experiences of 7-8 year old working-class girls in Belfast, Northern Ireland and their attitudes towards education. It shows how their emerging identities tend to emphasize relationships, marriage and motherhood at the expense of a concern with education and future careers. The article suggests that one important factor that can help explain this is the influence of the local neighbourhood. In drawing upon Bourdieu's concepts of symbolic violence and habitus and Elias' notion of figuration, the article shows how the local neighbourhood represents the parameters of the girls' social worlds. It provides the context within which the girls tend to focus on social relations within their community and particularly on family relationships, marriage and children. It also provides the context within which the girls tend to develop strong interdependent relationships with their mothers that also tend to encourage and reinforce the girls' particular gendered identities. The article concludes by arguing that there is a need for more research on working-class girls and education to look beyond the school to incorporate, more fully, an understanding of the influence of the family and local neighbourhood on their attitudes towards education and their future career aspirations.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in afield experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttestquestionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

Pupil Mobility: Using Students' Voices to Explore their Experiences of Changing Schools

This article explores the ways in which students' voices can be used to analyse the process of moving schools, at a time outside of those that young people normally change schools. The paper is based on a study in a secondary school and uses qualitative data collected by researchers and student co‐researchers. Two areas were raised by students as important about being at a new school: the perceived challenges and their perceptions of learning in a new environment. It is argued that to respond to issues that arise due to mobility, an engagement with students' views is necessary. Furthermore, this can facilitate policy‐makers, school leaders and educators in providing more effective support for those young people.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in a field experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttest questionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.