Suchergebnisse

Drawing from the life stories of 10 women migrants who had returned from working abroad, this article examines the individual-family nexus in terms of migration decision-making processes, how women and their families cope as transnational families, and how women migrants themselves view and assess their migration experience. The life stories indicate the significance of women's agency in initiating and carrying out their decisions, with support from their families. It should be noted though that although most of them decided to work abroad for the sake of their families, women also sought and attained personal benefits from migration. Among other purposes, the use of life stories provides a window to appreciate the internal changes that women attribute to their migration experiences.

This paper attempts to outline observed changes in Asian families (particularly in East and Southeast Asia) in the past thirty years, reviews research-based findings on the links between international migration and the family, and identifies emerging family-related issues vis-à-vis emerging trends in international migration. Among the notable changes in Asian families during this period are the shift towards smaller families, the shift to longer family life course, and the emerging transnational configuration of families. The last one has been brought about by increasing population mobility. Despite the policy to keep migration temporary, some limited form of settlement is taking place in the region. Among others, this raises questions and policy dilemmas concerning the nature of migration in the future, the treatment of foreigners in receiving societies, and human rights issues affecting women and children.

International labor migration has been a persistent feature of Philippine society since the 1970s. While the economic impact of overseas employment has been found to be generally beneficial to families and households, social impact of the phenomenon is less understood. Social transformation in four communities which have experienced large-scale and sustained international labor migration is discussed in the article. Economic prosperity for these communities, particularly for the families with migrant work was the most significant and most tangible impact attributed to oven employment. The negative aspects of overseas employment were related to perceptions of family problems and changes in the character of migrant and members of their families. In general, the nonmaterial changes triggered by overseas employment are still evolving, and changes in social forms or actors filling social roles are not necessarily to be viewed as negative effects of migration.

This article examines the link between parental migration and young children's education using data from the Philippine country study of the Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia (CHAMPSEA) Project. The key research question probed here is: what difference does parental migration make to the school outcomes of young children? Specifically, it looks at factors that explain children's school progression (school pacing) and academic performance (school achievement) using multiple regression analysis. These questions are explored using CHAMPSEA data gathered from a survey of children under 12 years of age and their households in Laguna and Batangas (n=487).

AbstractThere is revived interest and debate on the relation between international migration and development, with Asia emerging as one important locus for such deliberations. A number of institutions, journals, people and organizations have emerged as key players in these discussions but so far there have been few attempts to investigate the information gathered from the perspective of "knowledge production". This paper's objective, therefore, is to outline some of the ways in which knowledge about migration and development is being produced in Asia. We focus on selected aspects of knowledge production to identify the lenses through which much of the work is currently generated and the research imagination resulting from existing approaches.

This report presents the findings of a study which sought to examine the impact of Philippine government regulations on the status of Filipino domestic workers. The Migrants Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 or RA 8042 and its amendments (RA 9422 in 2006 and RA 10022 in 2010) were aimed at enhancing the protection of migrant women, especially those in domestic work. Part I of the report discusses the regulatory framework set in place by the Philippine government for the purpose of protecting Filipino migrants engaged in domestic work. Part II of the report is dedicated to assessing the outcomes of government regulations on the experiences of Filipino domestic workers. The review of literature, development of instruments, data collection, processing of data, and report writing took place between July and December 2010. The report concludes with lessons learned and policy recommendations, which are outlined in Part III. The study highlighted significant gaps in migrant workers' knowledge and understanding of government regulations. Based on the survey of domestic workers prior to migration, many departing migrant workers were not aware of basic work rights and government regulations, particularly those concerning the HSW reform package. The survey findings also indicate the violation of many government regulations. It is clear from the survey that if respondents had a choice, they would have wanted to work at another job. The key recommendations based on findings and insights from the study are programs on migration must be improved to promote awareness and understanding of basic policies, rights, and decent work conditions. Migrant workers' education program must be reinforced with post-arrival orientation programs in the destination countries must be improved. Reintegration services to distressed migrant domestic workers need to be expanded. An important step forward is a review of the HSW reform package in dialogue and consultation with the different stakeholders. Particularly for the government, it must pursue a clear and coherent policy concerning the deployment of domestic workers.