Transnational family and educational trajectories

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of transnational family networks for migration and educational trajectories between Brazil and Germany. The affiliation network and migration chain of a transnational family was reconstructed in order to analyze the influence of bonds and social networks within the extended family. Analysis and comparison of individual educational and migration trajectories provide insights into the support and influence of the transnational family network, as well as into orientations and reasons for migration. In most of the cases analyzed here, educational opportunities were an important element of the motivation to migrate. The discussion of the results illustrates how they could contribute to a concept of transnational education.

Transnational migration and educational opportunities: A case study of migration from Brazil to Germany

“…Following a multisited ethnographical approach (Marcus, 1995), our project collects data at different locations in Germany and Brazil as well as in different social fields: the sample includes migrants in search of a 'better life' as well as members of transnational social elites. In line with the ethnographical approach, we use different methods: participant observation, guided and narrative interviews, ego-centred network analysis and compilation of family trees (Carnicer, 2018). The research follows the 'networks of people linked to each other across national boundaries' (Mazzucato, 2008: 72), which are the unit of analysis.…”

“…This strategy is striking, since it is based on the estimation that the German educational system can provide better educational opportunities for them than the Brazilian system, even if it requires the acquisition of additional education certificates and of German language skills at a very high level. The study of individual cases such as Luciana's allows us to understand how such transnational educational orientations emerge, as well as allowing us to grasp the ways in which they are pursued (Carnicer, 2018(Carnicer, , 2016Fürstenau, 2018Fürstenau, , 2015a.…”

“…First findings demonstrate how educational opportunities influence the migration decisions of young people and families. This refers not only to socially privileged groups who possess the resources to access a global education market, but also to underprivileged youths such as Luciana, for whom migration constitutes a strategy of educational upward mobility (Carnicer, 2018;Fürstenau, 2018). The emergence of such aspirations is remarkable in social settings such as Luciana's favela, where comparable experiences are absent and appropriate resources such as foreign language skills, internationally recognized school certificates and even money are lacking.…”

Critical Reflexivity: Theoretical Considerations on Subjection and Postcoloniality for Teacher Education

“…The concept has been taken up in several studies focusing on various educational organizational structures (most notably used by Hornberg, 2010) but also increasingly exploring educational trajectories between different countries and individual transnational biographies (Carnicer, 2018;Keßler, Kotzyba, & Schippling, 2018;Putjata, 2019). While the ways in which these studies use this concept differ widely by accounting either for transnationalism 'from below' or transnationalism 'from above' , I maintain that the notion of 'transnational educational spaces' is well suited to explore both official discourses and everyday practices in schools that programmatically offer alternatives to a monocultural, mono-national, and monolingual ethos, such asin the case of this study, Schola Europaea and Europaschulen.…”