Organizers:
Sofia Gaspar, CIES-Iscte, Portugal
Fanni Beck, CEU, Hungary
Date: 1st December 2022 (Thursday)
Format: Online
Abstract: International student migration has been of scholarly interest for decades. However, most attention has been given to tertiary education, and educational mobility in the pre-university stage (between 5 and 16 years) has been neglected, despite its importance. Primary and secondary educational mobilities differ qualitatively from international student migration in two important regards: first, in these cases, it is (more obviously) the parent, who makes the decision to migrate, decides where to migrate and until when. And secondly, in the vast majority of cases at least one parent accompanies the child on the migratory journey, coupling the educational rationale with other concerns like his or her own employment and or investment opportunities. In the past decade, educational migration of middle-class Chinese families is becoming increasingly visible in Europe, an emerging destination following other more established educational locations in Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong), and the Anglophone world (US, UK, Canada, Australia). This results in important educational, social, economic, and political ramifications in sending and receiving states facilitating and facilitated by policies and mobility regimes across countries. Recent research has highlighted that motivations to move for primary and secondary education are related to a better quality of lifestyle, an escape from pollution and the rat-race of Chinese mega cities, and the desire for a less competitive and less commodified educational and social environment for children as well as for freedom.
The Seminar “Chinese Educational Mobilities in Europe and Beyond”, on the scope of WG5 Chinese migration of CHERN Cost Action, intends to explore and analyse this topic, with the contribution of several scholars who have been dedicated to understanding this phenomenon. As such, we invite scholars to send their proposal on one of the following topics (but not limited to):
I. China
– Chinese educational system and the desire for overseas education
– Preparing for overseas studies in China: transnational educational industry at home
– “Happy education”: defining childhood happiness, successful childhood, and the articulation of their reconciliation
II. Comparative analysis of educational destinations: motivations, regimes, and integration
– Socio-historical dynamics of Chinese educational migration to Europe and beyond – New trends in Chinese educational migration to Europe and beyond
– Comparative analysis of educational migration destinations across countries and continents
– Migration agencies and education migration to Europe and beyond
– Complexity of educational mobility regimes between China and Europe
III. Family
– Chinese families’ motivations to move abroad
– The role of migrant parents in children’s education
– Types of family arrangements in educational migration
– Educational integration of Chinese students and their parents in European schools
– Negotiating “childhood happiness” and success in the migratory environment, anticipating the future
Deadline and submission instructions: Proposals should be sent until 14th October 2022 to the organizers (Sofia Gaspar, sofia.gaspar@iscte-iul.pt and Fanni Beck, Beck_Fanni@phd.ceu.edu ), and they need to include a title, abstract (250 words), and 4 keywords.
The papers will be included as part of a Special Issue to be published on a leading English peer-reviewed a journal.
Managing editor: Lisa (Zhiyun) Bian
Network for Research into Chinese Education Mobilities (NRCEM) 