Researching Compassion and Belonging in the Educational System

Abstract

One of the challenges, both methodologically and theoretically, when studying forced migration (in educational contexts or others) is how to define the subjects of the research. There is a lack of clarity regarding the definitions of the different types of forced migrant that are often used interchangeably (Phillimore and Goodson, 2008). The most commonly used categories in the UK are refugees and asylum-seekers, which represent different legal statuses. According to British immigration law, asylum-seekers are those who have applied for asylum, while refugees are those who have proved to be genuine asylum-seekers and have been granted the status of refugees. Refugees are given temporary permission to reside and work in the UK. After five years they are able to apply for indefinite leave to remain (permanent residency) and a year after that they can apply for British citizenship.¹ In contrast, the concepts of ‘non-citizen’ and ‘citizen’² are analytical categories which are useful to social scientists when focusing attention on the relationship between different groups of migrants vis-à-vis the state, especially in terms of their access to rights, inclusion, belonging and security.³ We use the term ‘citizen’ child here to refer to a heterogenous group of young people who have citizen status. The majority are of British descent and have British citizenship but the group also includes naturalised British citizens, EU citizens and those with citizenship in their own country who are temporarily resident in the UK.