Human Capital, Values, and Attitudes of Persons Seeking Refuge in Austria in 2015

Abstract

Since its inception in 2010, the Arab Spring has evolved into a situation of violent conflict in many countries, leading to high levels of migration from the affected region. Given the social impact of the large number of individuals applying for asylum across Europe in 2015, it is important to study who these persons are in terms of their skills, motivations, and intentions. DiPAS (Displaced Persons in Austria Survey) aims to uncover the socio-demographic characteristics of the persons seeking refuge who arrived in Austria in 2015, mainly originating from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Particular focus is on human capital, attitudes and values. This survey, the first of its kind in Austria and possibly in Europe, was carried out among adult displaced persons, mostly residing in Vienna, yielding 514 completed interviews. Information gathered on spouses and children allows for the analysis of 972 persons living in Austria, and of further 419 partners and children abroad. Results indicate that the surveyed population comprised mainly young families with children, particularly those coming from Syria and Iraq. Their educational level is high compared with the average level in their country of origin. A vast majority of respondents are Muslims, rating their religiosity at medium levels. Judging from stated attitudes towards gender equity, interviewed men seem to have more liberal attitudes than their compatriots. The majority of respondents do not intend to return to their home countries, mostly because of the perception of permanent threat. DiPAS provides data for political decision-making and the on-going societal dialogue. Its findings can help to inform assessments about the integration potential of the displaced population into the host society. In addition, the applied methodological technique and experiences during the fieldwork provide valuable insights on sampling asylum seekers and refugees in the current European context.

Integrating young male refugees: initial evidence from an inclusive soccer project

“…These topics included recreational activities, professional activities, the social environment, health, personality and values, language and their time living in Germany, general information about the interviewee and information about their life before fleeing their homeland. Compared to the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey on refugees (see Brücker et al 2016) which entails almost 450 questions, our questionnaire is fairly modest but comparable to the one performed by Buber-Ennser et al (2016) among refugees in Austria. Participants belonging to the treatment group filled in an additional questionnaire which tries to capture their experience with HEIMSTÄRKE.…”

Empfehlungen für integrationspolitische Best-Practice-Strategien und -Maßnahmen

“…• beziehen sich auf eine Anhebung und Verbesserung Bei den Afghan/inn/en verteilen sich bei den in den vergangenen Jahren Angekommenen, zum Unterschied von den während der 1980er-und 1990er-Jahren Geflüchteten, die zum Großteil höhere Bildungsabschlüsse besaßen, die Bildungsqualifikationen bimodal 2 (vgl. Buber-Ennser et al 2016;Wiedner et al 2018). In Anbetracht des heterogenen Qualifikationsniveaus (vgl.…”

Instating settings of emergency education in Vienna: temporary schooling of pupils with forced migration backgrounds

“…To a large extent, this seemed due to political parties spreading news of misinterpreted statistics and tales of migrants aiming to 'play tricks'. For example, singular cases of the misuse of social security or violent attacks were arguably generalised and facts that would contrast such a view such as high levels of education among certain groups were overlooked or shaped by uninformed prejudice (Reisigl and Wodak 2005;Buber-Ennser et al 2016). This, despite the fact that Austria had previously received significantly higher numbers of refugees, such as in the 1950s from Hungary as well as in the 1990s as a result of the wars in the former Yugoslavia.…”