Pedagogies of Migration: Teaching and Learning across Global Contexts

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), some 281 million people have migrated from their country of birth worldwide, a large proportion of whom are children and youth. Education in transit persists as a key challenge and opportunity for envisioning just and equitable education in our increasingly digital society. Per UNHCR, the global average for gross primary school enrollment exceeds 100%, while for refugees, it stands at 65%. For secondary school gross enrollment, the numbers are worse: the global average is 77% and for refugees just 41%. In addition to barriers to access to quality schooling for refugee and immigrant students, a recently published article highlights the negative impact of anti-immigrant sentiments on the health of migrant communities (Yang, Eger & LInk, 2024). This demonstrates the need for all ages to understand the current context of migration, instead of buying into negative anti-immigrant tropes readily available in mainstream media, given the rise of immigration debates in national politics globally (Kruperkin, 2024).
In this panel, across four presentations, we examine how migrants learn in and outside of formal schooling environments; how teaching and learning about migration permeates the contexts in which others develop an understanding of the phenomenon of global migration; and what culturally and sociopolitically relevant curriculum, pedagogy, and policy might look like for migrant learners on the move. We further ask: What is the role of education in the lives of migrant families? What is the role of education in creating supportive and welcoming environments for newcomers? How does the education of migrant students inform–and potentially transform–critical understandings of the social aims of education?

By placing four papers in conversation, our panel highlights the educational experiences of newcomer youth in France, to newcomer students in the United States, to learning about the root causes of migration from Central America, to examining the learning experiences of transit migrants in Mexico. Through these four papers, we conceptualize pedagogies of migration across contexts and amidst deepening anti-immigrant sentiment globally. The panel underscores the diverse educational experiences and needs of migrant learners and their families, as well as the opportunities and challenges for educators, policymakers, and researchers in crafting more inclusive, relevant, and justice-oriented educational practices. We will invite participants to reflect on the role of education in supporting im/migrant communities, and reshaping our collective understanding of the social purpose of education in an era of global migration.


References

Krupenkin, M. (2024, March 1). Anti-immigrant rhetoric from cable news makes Americans more likely to want to try and deport immigrants. United States Politics and Policy. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2024/03/01/anti-immigrant-rhetoric-from-cable-news-makes-americans-more-likely-to-want-to-try-to-deport-immigrants/

Yang, L., Eger, M. & LInk, B. (2024). The human cost of politicizing immigration: Migration stigma, US politics, and health. Journal of American Medical Association, 332(8): 619-620.

Sub Unit

• Global Migration SIG

Organizer

• Amy M Argenal, University of California, Santa Cruz

Chair

• ROSA M JIMENEZ, University of San Francisco

Individual Presentations

• Life in Transit: Migration and Learning Through Mexico’s Frontera Centro - Claudia Triana Ipinza, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Challenging anti-immigrant rhetoric: Teaching root causes of migration in U.S. schools - Amy M Argenal, University of California, Santa Cruz

• Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth - Monisha Bajaj, University of San Francisco; Lesley Bartlett, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Teaching and Learning with Migrant Youth: Towards a Pedagogy of the Meanwhile - Roozbeh Shirazi, University of Minnesota

Discussant

• Gabriela Martinez Sainz, University College Dublin