Children, youth and families

Description: This dissertation enriched the knowledge on ‘integration’ by combining a multidimensional with a multi- and intergenerational perspective. We added to existing knowledge by including not only migrants and their children in our study, but also their grandchildren; and by studying integration from not only a multi- but also an intergenerational perspective. Furthermore, we showed how the concept of (the politics of) belonging provides much needed additional tools to open up the discussion about the definition and the pathways of integration with the perspectives of (descendants of) migrants themselves, to conceptualise their transnational belongings next to their local ones, and to grasp the dynamic interplay between (descendants of) migrants and the broader (receiving) society. We concluded that (studying) integration should not only be about increasing similarities to a dominant majority group, but also about the remaking of the mainstream and its growing capacity for dissent.
Promoter(s): Ilse Derluyn , Lieve Bradt
Researcher(s): Floor Verhaeghe
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Period of time: 2012 - 2019

Description: This research is about assimilation processes of several generations of migrants (1st, 2nd, 3rd generation) in different time episodes (sixties, eighties, present). Assimilation is not seen as an ideal to reach, but rachter as a possible way of examining processes migrants go through in the receiving country. Assimilation is used as a multidimensional concept, with a structural (education, labour market), cultural (language, leisure time), social (network, membership of organizations) and identificational dimension (self-identification in terms of ethnic/regional/national belonging). Objective as well as subjective components (own perception of migrants) are taken into account. Three studies are planned: a survey with youngsters in the last years of secondary schools in Genk and Sint-Niklaas, family interviews with multigenerational families with a migrant background and a discourse analysis of newspaper articles of different time episodes.
Promoter(s): Ilse Derluyn, Lieve Bradt
Researcher(s): Floor Verhaeghe
Faculty: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Period of time: 2012 - 2018

Description: The Diversity in Education project considers the social inequalities in the Belgian educational system based on ethnicity, socio-economic background, disability and gender. In collaboration with KULeuven and ULB, the project has three research objectives. 1) An analytic overview of the current knowledge concerning social inequalities in the Belgian educational system 2) An analysis of the ways in which schools and teachers deal with diversity at school 3) An innovative analysis of the orientation process in schools
Website research project: https://www.unia.be/nl/publicaties-statistieken/publicaties/diversiteitsbarometer-onderwijs
Promoter(s): Reinhilde Pulinx , Piet Van Avermaet
Researcher(s): Wendelien Vantieghem , Iris Roose
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2015 - 2016

Description: The increasing mobility of people leads to the worldwide circulation of documents that record the civil status of people (e.g. birth, marriage, death). The recognition of these documents traditionally belongs to the field of private international law which aspires cross-border harmony and continuity in the life of people. A noble objective, yet hard to put in practice. As a result, some people carry a different civil status (e.g. unmarried) in their host country in comparison with the status in their country of origin (e.g. married). Such discrepancies - also called limping legal relations - generate legal uncertainty and unpredictability. This research aims to study a new approach to cross-border civil status. Departing from the right to respect for private and family life, the research will examine whether and to what extend the human rights approach is able to reduce the negative effects of limping legal relations (increasing the cross-border portability of a certain civil status).
Promoter(s): Jinske Verhellen
Researcher(s): Sarah Den Haese
Faculty: Faculty of Law
Period of time: 2016 - 2021

Description: In many countries, global mobility and migration create a more diverse society. This shift in population also reflects in schools. However, pupils have great diversity in terms of ethnicity, talents, beliefs, and language skills; we see that Flemish schools still apply a monolingual language policy. Whereby Dutch is considered to be the standard language of instruction. Many Flemish schools completely ban the home language of pupils. This study aims to look at the school's language policy dynamics and how they influence each other (micro-, meso- and macro-level). During this ethnographic research, an intervention takes place, 2 classes of a Flemish secondary school are observed, interviews are conducted with teachers, pupils, management, and language teachers throughout the different phases of the research. This research aims to investigate how teachers' perceptions, attitudes, behaviors towards multilingualism change in the classroom after they implement FML in their own classroom.
Website research project: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/projects/multilingualism-secondary-education-flanders-dynamics-language-policy
Promoter(s): Wendelien Vantieghem , Piet Van Avermaet
Researcher(s): Maxime Van Raemdonck
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2019 - 2023

Description: Schools and teachers around the world are facing a growing diversity and increasing complexity (social inequality, labeling, …). In the past, pupils’ assignments to classrooms and schools have rather fostered segregation than encouraged inclusion. Today, we see a tendency towards more inclusive learning environments (cf. amongst others, the UN Convention of 2007, ratified by Belgium in 2009). However, this poses enormous challenges to the professional development of (pre-service) teachers and teams. The main objective of the project ‘POTENTIAL’, Power to Teach All, is to develop the competences of (pre-service) teachers and school teams to create inclusive learning environments. 
Website research project: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/projects/potential-power-teach-all-competence-development-create-inclusive-learning-environments
Promoter(s): Piet Van Avermaet
Researcher(s): Wendelien Vantieghem , Iris Roose
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2016 - 2019

Description: Although language diversity poses short-term challenges, early multilingualism and multi-literacy come with great benefits, at least, when it is correctly supported. Currently, many language minority (LM) families are distressed about language issues and many early childhood (EC) professionals (such as parenting advisors and childcare staff) feel insecure in their approach toward LM families. This project aims to transform this societal problem by promoting early multilingualism and multi-literacy in childhood and childcare in Flanders. In the first phase of the project, large-scale data and small-scale will be collected. This will generate critical insights about the needs of LM families and competencies of EC professionals. In the second phase, this knowledge will be integrated into five valorisation applications that will address the broad field of EC professionals.
Website research project: https://research.flw.ugent.be/en/projects/pro-m-promoting-early-multilingualism-childhood-and-childcare
Promoter(s): Wendelien Vantieghem , Piet Van Avermaet
Researcher(s): Victoria Van Oss
Faculty / Faculties: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
Period of time: 2018 - 2022

Description: In this research we focus on the precarious citizenship of refugees. We aim to not only take into account the citizenship practices, statuses and identities of migrants themselves but also how this interacts with citizenship discourses that are used within the migration and integration policies of Belgian governments. In this way, we want to contribute to the debate on how global migration is challenging and transforming citizenship. To do this, we will undertake a multi-method approach combining an ethnographic study including participant observation and in-depth interviews with young refugees in Belgium and a discourse analysis of the Flemish and Belgian integration and migration policies.
Promoter(s): Lesley Hustinx
Researcher(s): Rachel Waerniers
Department / Research group: Department of Sociology/ Centre for Social Theory
Faculty: Faculty of Political and Social Sciences