Using Comparative and Cross-National Qualitative Research to Explore the Schooling Experiences and Life Projects of Migrant and Minority Ethnic Youth

Abstract

The case study describes a comparative ethnographic study of migrant and minority ethnic young people’s schooling experiences and life projects in England and Spain. The education of migrants and minority ethnic youth is a topic of discussion in many European countries, but the voices of the young people themselves are often absent in comparative studies. This project therefore aimed to explore how migrant and minority young people themselves experience schooling and see their future within the framework of different national contexts and discourses. The case study describes the rationale for carrying out a qualitative research project in this area and discusses some of the practical and methodological challenges when doing comparative educational research in different countries. It describes the design and use of participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and participatory methods to elicit the young people’s experiences and gives examples to illustrate how methods may have to be adapted in the course of the research, due to the development of the project and the different national contexts. Finally, the case study reflects on the impact of the researcher’s ethnicity, age, gender, and other characteristics on research process and outcomes and concludes by summarizing how the comparative element of the study contributed to some of its main findings.

locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles