Exploring the lives and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth: a case study in Johannesburg, South Africa
| dc.contributor.advisor | Wilson-Strydom, Merridy | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Walker, Melanie | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Loots, Sonja | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mkwananzi, Wadzanai Faith | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-07-17T07:22:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-07-17T07:22:07Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (Ph.D.(Development Studies))--University of the Free State, 2017 | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐ As the migration phenomenon gains momentum, South Africa processes high volumes of refugee applications, particularly from neighbouring countries. One of the largest groups migrating is that of youths, in search of alternative livelihoods and opportunities in education and employment. In pursuit of these opportunities, challenges such as obtaining official documentation as well as resistance, intolerance and animosity from local residents are faced. Consequently, many unanswered questions remain on how the experiences of migrant youth influence their aspirations and desire for educational continuation or achievement. Although there are a number of studies on educational aspirations of migrant youth, most of these have focused on the Global North; there has not been an in-depth focus on individual educational aspirations of youth in the South-to-South migration context. Thus, this thesis seeks to provide additional insight into South-to-South mobility and marginalised migrant youthsโ educational aspirations. Through exploring the educational aspirations and developmental opportunities available to this group of youths, I argue that the capabilities approach (CA) provides a comprehensive framework, which incorporates diverse and complex challenges of migration, cutting across and beyond social, political, cultural and economic contexts. The use of the CA in this study not only acknowledges the complex nature of migration, but also demonstrates that human mobility, in addition to being a capability on its own, is an integral part of human development. This is illustrated by an assessment of available opportunities for migrant youth to expand their choices, as well as their capacity to improve other dimensions of their lives, such as an opportunity for education. The study adopts an interpretivist paradigm, which draws on concepts that are important in understanding peopleโs actions and behaviours, such as agency, opportunities, and being and doing in seeking to answer the following questions: (i) what are the everyday experiences of marginalised migrant youth in Johannesburg, South Africa? (ii) What educational aspirations do the marginalised migrant youth have? (iii) Which capabilities and functionings do they value? (iv) What advocacy strategies do the participants suggest be put in place to support their educational aspirations? Data was collected using in-depth narrative interviews with 26 migrant youth who had accessed refugee services at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. After preliminary open coding of individual interviews, a focus group was conducted to discuss some of the issues that emerged from individual interviews. Additional interviews were conducted with representatives from the refugee centre and Albert Street School respectively in order to gain detailed insight into migrant experiences. Two key findings emerged from this study. Firstly, resources to achieve educational aspirations for migrant youth remain constrained in all key dimensions: political, social, and economic. With these constraints, opportunities for accessing higher education also become limited. As such, these narratives on educational aspirations have also shown that a gap in the literature on marginalised migrants and education extends to other dimensions. These include issues of access, experiences within higher education institutions, as well as achievement in higher education for the few migrant youth that have opportunities to progress further in education. Secondly, aspirations are complex and multidimensional, as is the environment that shapes them. Such complexity requires an in-depth and comprehensive analysis, as a simplistic understanding may overlook the lived realities of marginalised groups. Thus, I provide a new conceptualisation of aspirations intersecting along the axes of agency and structural conversion factors. Based on this conceptualisation I present an argument for four types of aspirations, namely resigned, powerful, persistent and frustrated aspirations. This construction of aspirations provides a different way of thinking about aspirations formation in contexts of marginalisation, disadvantage and vulnerability experienced by migrant youth in the study, as well as others living in similar environments. Furthermore, the thesis presents the intersectionality of conversion factors in the migrant youthsโ lives and how this intersectionality influences their educational aspirations. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ Soos die migrasie-fenomeen momentum opbou is Suid-Afrika een van die Afrika lande wat hoe volumes vlugteling aansoeke prosesseer, veral van aangrensende lande. Een van die grootste groepe wat migreer is jeugdiges op soek na alternatiewe metodes van lewensbestaan en geleenthede in opvoeding en werk. In die nastrewing van hierdie geleenthede word verskeie uitdagings ervaar, insluitend die verkryging van offisie le dokumentasie asook weerstand, onverdraagsaamheid en vyandigheid van plaaslike inwoners. Gevolglik bly verskeie vrae onbeantwoord oor hoe die ervaringe van migrerende jeug hul aspirasies en begeerte vir opvoedkundige voortsetting en bereiking beรฏ nvloed. Alhoewel daar verskeie studies oor die opvoedkundige aspirasies van migrerende jeug is, is meeste van hierdie studies gefokus op die globale Noord; daar is nog geen soortgelyke, in-diepte studies oor individuele opvoedkundige aspirasies van jeugdiges in die Suid-Suid migrasie konteks gedoen nie. Dus poog hierdie tesis om addisionele insig te voorsien oor Suid-Suid mobiliteit en gemarginaliseerde migrerende jeugdiges se opvoedkundige aspirasies. Deur die opvoedkundige aspirasies en ontwikkelingsgeleenthede beskikbaar aan hierdie groep te bestudeer, voer ek aan dat die vermoe nsbenadering ล omvattende raamwerk verskaf wat die diverse en komplekse uitdagings van migrasie kan saamvat wat deur sosiale, politieke, kulturele en ekonomiese kontekste sny. Die gebruik van die vermoe nsbenadering in hierdie studie erken die komplekse aard van migrasie, maar demonstreer ook dat menslike mobiliteit, ook geag as ล alleenstaande vermoe , ล integrale deel van menslike ontwikkeling is. Dit word uitgebeeld deur ล assessering van beskikbare geleenthede vir migrerende jeugdiges om hul keuses te verbreed sowel as hul vermoe ns om ander dimensies van hul lewens, soos die geleentheid vir opvoeding, te verbeter. Die studie is gesitueer in die interpretatiewe paradigma wat gebruik maak van konsepte soos agentskap, geleenthede, en om te โwees en doenโ wat belangrik is om mense se aksies en gedrag te verstaan โ en veral om die volgende vrae te beantwoord: (i) Wat is die alledaagse ervaringe van gemarginaliseerde migrerende jeug in Johannesburg, Suid-Afrika? (ii) Watter opvoedkundige aspirasies het die gemarginaliseerde migrerende jeug? (iii) Watter vermoe ns om te โwees en doenโ plaas hulle waarde op? (iv) Watter strategiee stel die deelnemers voor moet in plek gesit word om hulle opvoedkundige aspirasies te kan nastreef? Die data was ingesamel deur in-diepte verhalende onderhoude met 26 migrerende jeugdiges wie gebruik gemaak het van dienste aan vlugtelinge deur die Sentrale Metodiste Kerk in Johannesburg. Na voorlopige oop kodering van individuele onderhoude is ล fokusgroep toegepas om van die kwessies opgebring in die onderhoude aan te spreek. Addisionele onderhoude is gedoen met verteenwoordigers van die vlugteling sentrum en Albert Straat Skool onderskeidelik om ล groter geheelbeeld van die migrerende jeug se ervaringe te kry. Twee sleutelbevindinge het vorendag gekom uit die studie. Eerstens, hulpbronne om opvoedingsaspirasies na te streef bly beperk in alle kerndimensies, insluitend polities, sosiaal en ekonomies. Hierdie beperkinge veroorsaak ook dat toegangsgeleenthede tot hoe r onderwys beperk word. Die verhalings oor opvoedkundige aspirasies het ook gewys dat daar ล gebrek aan literatuur is oor gemarginaliseerde immigrante en opvoeding, wat ook na ander dimensies uitbrei. Hierdie dimensies sluit in kwessies oor toegang, ervaringe binne hoe r onderwys, sowel as prestasie in hoe r onderwys vir die gemarginaliseerde migrerende jeug wat wel geleenthede vir verdere opvoeding kry. Tweedens, aspirasies is kompleks en multidimensioneel soos die omgewing wat hulle vorm. Hierdie kompleksiteit vereis ล in-diepte en omvattende analise omdat ล simplistiese begrip die geleefde realiteit van gemarginaliseerde groepe mag oorsien. Dus voorsien ek ล nuwe konseptualisering van aspirasies wat deurkruis met die akse van agentskap en strukturele konversie faktore. Gebaseer op hierdie konseptualisering le ek die argument voor vir vier tipes aspirasies, naamlik berustend, magtig, volhardend en gefrustreerde aspirasies. Hierdie konstruksie van aspirasies verskaf ล alternatiewe manier om oor aspirasie formasie te dink in kontekste van marginalisering, benadeling en kwesbaarheid waarin die migrerende jeug van hierdie studie sowel as ander mense leef. Verder stel hierdie tesis die deurkruising van konversie faktore in die migrerende jeug se lewens voor, asook hoe hierdie deurkruising hul opvoedkundige aspirasies beรฏ nvloed. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.sponsorship | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.description.sponsorship | National Research Foundation (NRF) | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/6485 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Abstract in other languages ๐๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐ฌ๐ข๐ข๐ฏ๐ด | |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Capability approach | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Disadvantage | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Educational aspirations | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Higher education | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Human development | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Marginalisation | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Migration | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Youth | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Children of migrant laborers -- Education -- South Africa -- Johannesburg | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Exploring the lives and educational aspirations of marginalised migrant youth: a case study in Johannesburg, South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |