Exploring the Early Experiences of Highly Educated Eritrean migrants in the UK

• In Event: Education and Migrant Communities

Proposal

1. Objectives
Informed by theories of globalisation, migration and education, this study explores the experiences of highly educated Eritrean migrants who completed their university education in Eritrea, before migrating to the UK. For the purpose of this investigation, highly educated individuals are those who have successfully completed higher education with duration of two or more years (UNESCO, 2012). In this study, I particularly aim to understand the socio-cultural integration experiences of the Eritrean migrants in the UK. In doing so, I address the following questions:
• How do highly educated Eritrean migrants explain their socio-cultural integration within the UK?
• What are the factors that influence the socio-cultural integration experiences of highly educated Eritrean migrants in the UK?
• How do highly educated Eritrean migrants use their prior to migration educational attainment to integrate within the UK?

2. Theoretical Perspective
This study particularly adopted Schlossberg’s transition theory (1981, 2011) in order to understand the socio-cultural experiences of the migrants based on the type, context, and impact of their transition. According to Schlossberg, Waiters and Goodman (1995, p.33), a transition is “any event or non-event that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions, and roles”. Schlossberg (2011) argued that, although transition takes time, everyone experiences events or non-events, anticipated or unanticipated transition, and this transition changes peoples’ lives for better or worse.

Many researchers have used Schlossberg’s transition theory to explain the change that goes within immigrants to reach a stage of adjustment, acceptance and successful coping (Heggins & Jackson, 2003; Smart & Smart, 2001). In this study, Schlossberg’s transition theory is used to explain the integration of immigrants to the exotic and new social and cultural values of the host country. Therefore, this study focuses on two significant aspect of the transition theory: understanding transitions and coping with transitions.

3. Methods and Data source
The study is qualitative in nature with a phenomenological approach. Qualitative research has an unrivalled capacity to constitute compelling arguments about “how things work” in particular context, and at the same time is capable of producing very well founded “cross-contextual generalities” (Mason, 2002:1). The study draws on phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of the migrants from their stories (Wiersma & Jurs, 2004).

Moreover, I employed interview for data collection, and thematic approach for data analysis. I conducted narrative interviews with 24 Eritreans who gained university degrees in Eritrea, before migrating to the UK. I used narrative interviews in order to allow the participants to express their experiences in their own way and from their own perspective (Marhsall & Rossman, 2006). The study followed the ethical principles of the University of Roehampton and the British Sociological Association (BSA) to recruit participants and collect data.

This study employed thematic analysis in order to understand the stories people tell about their life trajectories (Sarantakos, 2013). Thematic analysis provides flexibility by summarising key features of a large corpus of data, and at the same time offering rich and detailed interpretation of the data by explaining the events as well as the context (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

4. Findings to Support Conclusions.
The study revealed that, after reaching the UK, the Eritrean migrants perceive that their asylum application will automatically be accepted and they will start a new life within a short period of time. However, as many participants explained, their experience was very complex mainly filled with hope on one side, and nostalgia and anxiety on the other. The cultural differences and the refugee status of the migrants have great impact starting the arrival of migrants to the UK. In addition, the study indicated that the distress and vulnerability of the migrants was also aggravated by negative media discourses. The representation of refugees and asylum seekers in the destination countries as “unwanted invaders” (Parker, 2015) or “faceless threats” (Kokkonen, 2017) makes the migrants more vulnerable.

Furthermore, the study found that higher educational attainment helps the immigrants’ to have better academic and work opportunities and shape their experience in the UK. This is consistent with the argument that education plays a vital role in shaping the immigrants’ experience and life course in their host country (Brǎdǎţan & Kulcsár, 2014; Dustmann & Glitz, 2011; Torres, 1998). Yet, there is a deskilling problem in which the qualification of the immigrants is not considered as equal the level to the UK. Therefore, many immigrants work in a profession which is not related to their previous qualification; while others are forced to go back to university in which some of them start at undergraduate level again.

5. Significance of the study
Although various studies have been conducted on migration, the study provides critical analyses of migrant experiences which have been given relatively little attention by researchers. The study analyses the stories of the migrants in order to understand their perspectives. Therefore, it contributes to a better understanding of migrant socio-cultural experiences. Furthermore, the research provides a more robust explanation of the connections between educational attainment of migrants and/or migration discourses (including media discourses), and the experiences of migrants.

Author

• Samson M. Tsegay, University of Roehampton