La incorporació de l'ètnia en l'anàlisi de les trajectòries escolars i laborals. Itineraris de joves sud-americans a L'Hospitalet de Llobregat

Abstract

The doctoral thesis "The inclusion of ethnicity in the analysis of school and labor pathways: young South American itineraries on L'Hospitalet de Llobregat" seeks to articulate two concepts (and theoretical traditions): in one hand, the concepts of transitions and trajectories, and, on the other hand, the concept of ethnicity. Regarding the transitions, we start from the notion extensively defined by the Research Group on Education and Labor (GRET). We understand that the transitions are characterized as being a social process that incorporates elements of both agency and structure, and, also, to have a historical character. These processes are featured by young people; these, however, are not even a social group or a age group, but they are the "base population" of that social process. And, with regard to ethnicity, we define it as relational and contextual concept, intrinsically linked on group dynamics, identification (of oneself and of the other, individually and collectively), with the usage of the strategic symbolic tools that are available in each situation. In conclusion, a concept that considers ethnicity in a broad sense: national, linguistic, and cultural. From the relationship between these two elements, we propose to answer the question: what is the relationship of ethnicity on, academic and employment pathways of young immigrants? There are differences? And under what mechanisms they operate? To address these issues, we have proposed five hypotheses: four relating to the processes or mechanisms that operate in that relationship, and one concerning the results. The mechanisms put forward are related to migration processes, the segmented assimilation models, the the management of diversity conducted from the field school, and other transversal elements (affecting the whole cohort, not only to young immigrants). The confirmation and refutation of these hypotheses will be done through the own fieldwork (carried on a small school in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat) and for the exploitation of secondary data (mainly the data of the Department of Education). The confirmation and refutation of these hypotheses will happen by contrasting them with the field work and with the exploitation of secondary sources. The fieldwork will take place in a small institute of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, and the secondary sources will be mainly the data of the Department of Education.

Date of Award	4 Oct 2012
Original language	Catalan
Supervisor	Rafael Merino Pareja (Director)