Suchergebnisse

In May 2004, eight East European countries (A8)1 became members of the EU. The UK was one of the three countries, together with Ireland and Sweden, that granted the new Europeans immediate and free access to their labour markets. As a result, a large number of work-seekers arrived in the UK. Between April 2004 and March 2005, 116,840 A8 citizens requested a national insurance number (Department for Work and Pensions 2012). The new arrivals have received significant attention from politicians, the media, the public at large, and researchers. This Issue Paper explores the views and experiences of 10 Hungarian migrants living in the south-east of England. Although the number of Hungarians in the UK is not considerable when compared to migrants from some other countries (for example, Poland or Lithuania), nevertheless it has increased tenfold since 2004. Interviewees suggested that the UK offered better opportunities for employment than Hungary, despite working in low-skilled and low-paid jobs in the UK. The findings indicate that most interviewees arrived in the UK to learn English and to establish financial security for themselves. Local employers largely disregarded the qualifications and work experiences the respondents had gained in Hungary and many respondents had limited knowledge of the English language. Therefore, the interviewees did not consider themselves as competitive in the UK labour market and were forced to accept low-skilled and low-paid jobs, which they felt were well below their abilities and aspirations. By 2014, all interviewees felt that they had established financial security, but only very few had achieved professional satisfaction.

Migration is a hugely contested area and the widely differing views, statistics, and attitudes to migrants are infused with politics. EU migration is a special case because EU citizens have free movement rights, may live and work in any other EU country, and have almost the same rights as locals. During the past 10 years there have been two waves of EU accession: in 2004 eight East European countries received the right to take up employment in the UK freely, and in 2007 when the UK introduced restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens to work in the UK, which were lifted on 1 January 2014. In 2004 a much larger than expected number of A8 citizens moved to work in the UK, which raised the alarm in particular among the wider public. Questions were raised concerning the impact of the A81 migrants on social and welfare benefits, on youth unemployment, on the labour market, on wages, and whether or not the A8 migrants contribute to the UK economy and generate financial benefits for the country.This study investigated the views and experiences of 10 Hungarian migrants living in the south-east of England. The data suggest that the UK offers better opportunities for Hungarian migrants to find employment than Hungary, and that there are better chances for them in the UK to establish financial security. Many of the interviewees have already worked excessive hours in Hungary, and some also engaged in low-skilled and low-paid work before coming to the UK. All interviewees were well educated at levels 3, 4 and 5 and often had two to three qualifications. In spite of this most interviewees found employment in the UK in lowskilled and low-paid work. English language skills, unknown Hungarian qualifications, lack of UK work experience, lack of time, and lack of financial resources were the main reasons for not being able to negotiate better jobs and starting higher on the job ladder. Most interviewees felt uncomfortable in their low-skilled jobs and often felt that they would be able to offer so much more. They also felt ...

This novel contribution examines the lived experiences of migrants in education in various international contexts, exploring common school system features that promote students' inclusion and challenge their exclusion.
With a range of international contributions and case studies from Canada, the US, Hong Kong, Japan and Europe, the book offers critical, theoretically innovative understandings examining national policies and practices to develop reforms, focusing on agency, heterogeneity and systems of relational spaces for migrant youth. Chapters engage with discussions around differentiated needs of marginalised and vulnerable groups, as well as the importance of superdiversity in studying and developing inclusive systems for migrant youth in education.
Offering unique insights, the book outlines a framework for the promotion of inclusive school systems that ultimately look to create quality learning environments that prevent discrimination, and support students' holistic needs. It will be of great interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of sociology of education, philosophy of education, psychology of education, teacher education and social policy.

With the UK government's intention to reinvigorate the further education sector (see Department for Education, 2019 commonly known as the Augar Report, and Skills for Jobs White Paper, DfE 2021 for England), learning from global insights is imperative, particularly of the ways other countries are developing and delivering technical excellence and the drivers used to achieve this. Skills competitions have been one way of doing this. WorldSkills Competitions (WSC) promote and enable skill development at the highest standard and have been shown to impact positively on the UK education and training system, and the economy more broadly (James Relly and Keep, 2018; Chankseliani, James Relly and Laczik, 2016). In the UK, during the last five to ten years, attention has been focused on the broader impact of WSC and Team UK to understand better how vocational excellence can, and is, developed. Further education, higher education and private training provider participation in skills competitions has grown across all four UK nations, with increasing numbers of students and apprentices joining Squad UK and/or Team UK and more of these institutions involved in local, regional and national competitions; at the same time the number of colleges hosting these skills competitions at various levels has also increased (James Relly, 2020). The ambitious plan clearly articulated in the Skills for Jobs White Paper (DfE, 2021) for England as well as policies being developed to improve standards in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland recognise the pivotal role TVET plays in skills development and boosting economic growth. With an increasing focus on specialisation and higher-level technical skills development (DfE, 2019) it is important to understand better how to develop technical excellence at all levels in the UK skills system and what drivers can be developed to do this. This report draws on distinctive insights into global skills systems. Innovations and developments in other countries have long held fascination for policymakers ...

The symposium focuses on the role played by active citizenship and communication practices in contributing to social inclusion of young adults in vulnerable life situations. Engaging vulnerable young people through adult education has been strongly related to addressing the specific needs and requirements that would facilitate their participation in the social, economic and civic/political life in their country contexts. The paper draws on the key findings and conclusions of the Horizon 2020 project 'Adult Education as a Means to Active Participatory Citizenship' (EduMAP, 2017; 2019) conducted in 2016-2019. The project, which involved the partnership and cooperation of eight academic institutions in six European countries and one non-EU partner, aimed to advance understanding and further develop both the current and future impact of adult education on learning for active participatory citizenship in Europe and beyond. The methodological approach was based on both desk and empirical research, carried out through dedicated work packages. The project also involved undertaking a review of the relevant literature, including research publications, policy papers and statistics, relevant to the inclusion and participation of young adults. The EduMAP study involved researching 40 adult education programmes across 19 EU countries and Turkey. Fieldwork was carried out through individual and focus group interviews with 814 participants, including educational practitioners, policy-makers and young adults.