Children, Migration and Diversity Project
What can governments, schools and communities do to ensure that children and young people have positive experiences of immigration and cultural diversity?
Our Overall Mission
- To produce high quality evidence on how children and young people experience migration and cultural diversity.
- To contribute significantly to the international evidence base on promoting positive inter-cultural interaction and tackling racism in childhood.
- To work with all relevant partners for effective knowledge exchange on issues to do with migration, diversity and childhood.
- To build a core of expertise across a wide range of research methodologies for working with migrant children.
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Our Context
- After a long period of relative cultural and ethnic homogeneity Ireland experienced an abrupt increase in migration from an exceptionally wide range of countries. This makes Ireland a unique laboratory for research contributing to a wider understanding of migration and diversity issues.
- Large numbers of the migrants reside in areas immediately adjacent to our university.
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Our Record
- A large in-depth qualitative research study with 355 primary school children (both local and migrant) on their experiences of diversity and migration. The findings from this project have been published as a book, ‘Where to from here? Inter-ethnic relations among children in Ireland’ (Dublin: Liffey Press, 2011). The findings also form the basis of two PhD studies.
- A national qualitative study with 167 migrant teenagers on their experiences of migration and living in Ireland (in conjunction with a leading migrant rights NGO).
In the final stages of an intensive, systematic review of the impact of team learning strategies on inter-ethnic climate in multi-cultural schools. This project is funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences and is supported by the Campbell Collaboration, an international organisation which specializes in high quality evaluation of policy interventions. - Analysis of data from the Irish longitudinal study of children, Growing up in Ireland, on personal and social outcomes for migrant children.
- Currently piloting a child-centred survey instrument to measure key dimensions of inter-ethnic contact and conflict among children.
- Two PhD studies completed and three more in process. View completed dissertations and current postgraduate projects supervised by Team Members. (PDF, 46KB)
- Two awards from the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences. Three of the five PhD studies funded externally (by the Office for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2) and the Family Support Agency (1)).
- One book and a number of research reports published. Presentations at international conferences in Ireland, UK, USA and Holland.
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Our Activities Outside the University
- We are deeply committed to working with relevant partners in the community.
- We maintain links with leading international researchers in the field of migration and methodology.
- We have conducted one major study with the leading migrant rights organisation in Ireland (now called The Integration Centre).
- We are currently conducting a national campaign in Ireland which engages creatively with children and teachers on key issues regarding children and racism.
- Our work has received coverage on national media as well as on numerous educational journals and websites.
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Our Team
- This project is hosted jointly by the Children’s Research Centre and the School of Social Work and Social Policy, both at Trinity College Dublin.
- The research team comprises two members of academic staff and four PhD students from a wide variety of international backgrounds.
- The project team brings together people with backgrounds in Social Policy, Social Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Education and Social Work.
- We have expertise in qualitative research with children, school-based research, cross-cultural research, survey research with children, data analysis, systematic reviewing and knowledge exchange.
- It was founded in 2006 as part of the Trinity Immigration Initiative.
Co-Principal Investigator: Professor Robbie Gilligan, robbie.gilligan@tcd.ie
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip Curry, pcurry@tcd.ie
PhD students: Kate Babineau, Lindsey Garratt, Jennifer Scholtz, Dovile Vildaite.
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