The Trouble with Preventing Youth Out Migration

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Madden

As young people leave rural communities in droves, those communities are desperately trying to find ways to keep them. This blog, originally published on EconomicDevelopment.org, argues for a different approach: letting them leave.  Outmigrants, particularly those who move to cities, build valuable skills and networks while they are away. Many bring these assets back to their home communities later in life.

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Glendinning ◽  
Mark Nuttall ◽  
Leo Hendry ◽  
Marion Kloep ◽  
Sheila Wood

This study looks at young people's accounts of life in communities in rural northern Scotland, and considers in what ways affective and social aspects of community are bound up with well-being, over and above young people's concerns for the future, rural youth transitions, and out-migration. Interviews were held with 15–18 year-olds in four study areas (16 groups, N = 60+) and a parallel survey of 11–16 year-olds was conducted in eight study areas (N = 2400+). Themes to emerge from the interviews included: opportunities locally, the future and staying on, as well as local amenities and services; but older teenagers also spoke at length about their social lives, family and social networks, and their community, both as close-knit and caring and as intrusive and controlling. Rural communities were seen as good places in childhood, but not necessarily for young people. In parallel with that, the survey data paints a picture where feelings of support, control, autonomy, and attachment were all associated with emotional well-being. Importantly, links between emotional well-being and practical, material concerns were outweighed by positive identifications of community as close-knit and caring; and equally, by negative identifications as intrusive and constraining, where the latter was felt more strongly by young women. Certainly, beliefs about future employment and educational opportunities were also linked to well-being, but that was over and above, and independently of, affective and social aspects of community life. Additionally, migration intentions were also bound up with sense of self and well-being, and with feelings about community life; and links between thoughts about leaving and community life as controlling and constraining were, yet again, felt more strongly by young women. Thus, gender was a key dimension affecting young people's feelings about their communities with significant implications for well-being, and out-migration. The study illustrates the importance of understanding the experiences young people have of growing up in rural areas, and how they evaluate those experiences: particularly, how life in rural communities matters for young people's well-being; and especially, for young women.


Youth Justice ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-308
Author(s):  
Hannah Marshall ◽  
Joel Harvey ◽  
Caroline Lanskey

This article advances research on the practice of youth justice in rural contexts. Drawing on Ingold’s dwelling perspective, and empirical research with youth justice practitioners in rural England, we explore how practitioners develop their practice through their relationships to their rural working environments. We find that through these relationships, practitioners develop themselves as ‘connectors’, aiming to reduce the impact of Fordshire’s remoteness and isolation on young people; as ‘horizon stretchers’, seeking to raise aspirations and broaden imaginations; but often find themselves to be ‘outsiders’ in relation to rural communities. Accordingly, we argue that youth justice work is infused with the lived realities of the contexts in which it is practised and that ongoing debates over the localization of youth justice must take this into account.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Penuliar ◽  
Candice Clark ◽  
Debbie Curti ◽  
Cathy Hudson ◽  
Billy Philips

ABSTRACTUniversities play a central role in a rural or small town’s economy. They are often the main forms of enrichment to the lives of the longtime residents, the students, and the employees. Unfortunately, during a global pandemic, the migration and movement of young people in these communities can likely cause a rapid infection spike and drive spread easily, especially relative to larger urban areas. The current study investigates the relationship between COVID-19 case growth, university-county rurality, and time at the beginning of the Fall 2020 academic semester. Findings showed that small metro and non-metro counties with universities had a dramatic infection spike near the beginning of the semester and infection growth remained significantly higher than their large and medium metro counterparts for the duration of the study. Suggestions to slow the spread in rural communities are discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Owen Seda ◽  
Nehemiah Chivandikwa

This article is a critical reflection on possibilities for social transformation and democratisation that can be possibly realised through collaborations between young people in civil society, African traditional religion and the Christian movement in contemporary contexts. In this context the focus on young people as key agents of change is informed by the frequent observation that young people are often the major perpetrators (and victims) of political violence and yet the least beneficiaries from the political spoils. The article analyses a project in the use of applied theatre to address political violence and torture that was conducted by the University of Zimbabwe's Department of Theatre Arts and Amani Trust some time between October 2001 and March 2002. The article uses that project to investigate and to illustrate some of the opportunities that can be harnessed by religious arms of civil society to strengthen peace in disadvantaged rural communities, such as we find in contemporary Zimbabwe, and which often bear the brunt of social unrest in times of political uncertainty. The study approaches time as a social construct that determines human agency and decision-making in order to adopt the biblical concept of ‘kairos’ or the ‘kairotic’ moment. The ‘kairotic’ moment referred to in this paper is the period between 1999 and 2008 when the Zimbabwean polity faced one of its severest national crises following protracted political contestation. This resulted in unprecedented levels of political intolerance, and state-sanctioned violence and torture in the country’s post-independence history. This level of political violence was perhaps second only to the infamous Gukurahundi massacres, which took place in the Midlands and Matebeleland provinces during the mid-1980s. We also view the kairotic moment as a critical moment for making a fundamental decision. It is full of both promise and danger, so much so that whether the moment ‘reaps’ hope or danger depends on how the moment is seized. We ask: Did civil society seize the moment to reap hope? In other words, we analyse whether various arms of Zimbabwean civil society took advantage of the ‘pregnant’ or kairotic moment to liberate itself. The authors adopt existing discourses on civil society and liberation theology to argue that whenever the time is ripe for meaningful intervention, there in fact exist immense opportunities for different branches of civil society domiciled in both traditional African and modern Christian religions to harness applied theatre in the service of peace and democratisation in the face of political adversity and uncertainty. 


Author(s):  
Geoff Childs ◽  
Namgyal Choedup

Chapter 4 provides a demographic foundation for the study. It begins by linking educational migration with the resettling of Tibetan exiles in Nepal and India in the 1960s, where they established the schools and monasteries where many Nubri children now reside. By comparing fertility differentials between Nubri’s residents and the Tibetan exiles, the chapter provides evidence that demographic disparity helps drive emigration through a supply-and-demand chain linking urban institutions in need of recruits with rural communities where parents have many children. The chapter concludes by documenting the directions and quantifying the magnitude of Nubri’s educational migration.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret M. Alston ◽  
Jenny Kent

The social and economic effects of globalisation in rural communities is well documented. Ageing populations, loss of services and employment opportunities are typical of rural areas in many western industrialised countries. Focusing on declining access to tertiary education, this paper argues that a lack of adequate policy is creating socially excluded young people in country towns. In particular, drawing on research conducted in the Centre for Rural Social Research at Charles Sturt University, it argues that the financial cost of education is creating a huge barrier for many rural families. If rural areas are to benefit from globalisation, a skilled workforce is critical. Declining rural access to tertiary education exacerbates power differentials resulting from globalisation and therefore restrains access to the opportunities of globalisation and hinders rural revitalisation.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
Paulina Rodríguez-Díaz ◽  
Rocío Almuna ◽  
Carla Marchant ◽  
Sally Heinz ◽  
Roxana Lebuy ◽  
...  

Rural livelihoods are under threat, not only from climate change and soil erosion but also because young people in rural areas are increasingly moving to urbanized areas, seeking employment and education opportunities. In the Valparaiso region of Chile, megadrought, soil degradation, and industrialization are driving young people to leave agricultural and livestock activities. In this study, our main objective was to identify the factors influencing young people living in two rural agricultural communities (Valle Hermoso and La Vega). We conducted 90 online surveys of young people aged 13–24 to evaluate their interest in living in the countryside (ILC). We assessed the effect of community satisfaction, connectedness to nature, and social valuation of rural livelihoods on the ILC. The results show that young people were more likely to stay living in the countryside when they felt satisfied and safe in their community, felt a connection with nature, and were surrounded by people who enjoyed the countryside. These results highlight the relevance of promoting place attachment and the feeling of belonging within the rural community. Chilean rural management and local policies need to focus on rural youth and highlight the opportunities that the countryside provides for them.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Bourke ◽  
Catherine Waite

<p>Understandings of disability and impairment among the general public influence how people without disability interact with those with disability.&nbsp; This paper explored how disability and impairment are understood by young people living in six rural communities in southeast Australia, including the perspectives of those with and without a disability.&nbsp; Of the 172 rural young people surveyed, 6% self-identified as having a disability, 7% were categorised as &lsquo;at risk&rsquo; of mental ill-health and almost half reported some type of impairment or health condition.&nbsp; Using various measures, young people&rsquo;s responses reflected key discourses of disability, including dimensions of impairment, social judgement and limited function, and a blending of the medical and social models.&nbsp; These same young people separated the terms impairment and disability, embedding stigma in the latter.&nbsp; The study concluded that these rural communities need to reconstruct understandings of disability so as to support young people with disability and/or impairment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110435
Author(s):  
Traci L. Wike ◽  
Leah M. Bouchard ◽  
Aaron Kemmerer ◽  
Mauricio P. Yabar

LGBTQ+ youth experience higher rates of interpersonal violence, such as peer-based bullying and identity-based harassment, than their counterparts. Experiences of victimization can occur across different social contexts including family, school, peers, and community. LGBTQ+ youth in rural communities may be at increased risk for identity-based victimization due in part to geographic isolation and an often conservative value system that may create a hostile environment to LGBTQ+ individuals. However, few studies have examined the experiences of rural LGBTQ+ youth from their perspectives, and how the rural context may affect their experiences with victimization and social support. This qualitative study explores the victimization experiences of rural LGBTQ+ youth, the supports available to them, and ways they show resilience. We conducted qualitative interviews with a sample of 11 young people ages 12-21, recruited in partnership with a local LGBTQ+ agency across a rural five county region in the Southeastern United States. Four themes emerged related to how rural youth navigate bullying, harassment, and victimization across different social contexts and the support that is available to them: (1) conflicting family messages, (2) navigating personal safety at school, (3) connecting through technology, and (4) confronting negative religious sentiment. A fifth theme captures the strengths of young people in the mid of victimization: (5) demonstrating individual and collective resilience. Although rural LGBTQ+ youth experience victimization in similar ways to urban and suburban youth, rural youth may have less access to social supports that buffer effects of victimization. This study highlights the strengths in rural LGBTQ+ young people as well as their commitment to supporting one another and seeing change in their communities. Findings illustrate a need for greater support for LGBTQ+ youth in rural areas while leveraging existing strength of the youth and their community for sustainable support and resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ikechukwu Uduji ◽  
Elda Nduka Okolo-Obasi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of multinational oil companies in Nigeria. Its main focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on equipping rural young people with essential farming skills and knowledge for the adoption and application of modern agricultural inputs in the Niger Delta region. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a survey research technique, aimed at gathering information from a representative sample of the population, as it is essentially cross-sectional, describing and interpreting the current situation. A total of 800 rural young people were sampled across the oil producing region. Findings The results from the use of combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that the GMoU model has a significant impact on the development of informal farm entrepreneurship generally, but somewhat undermined rural young people in the targeted agricultural clusters. Practical implications This suggests that youth-specific CSR farm projects can be effective in providing young people with the extra push needed to tackle the knowledge gap and poor agronomic that erect the below-per yield and lack of competitiveness of small-holder farmers in the region. Social implications It implies that a coherent and integrated CSR response from the business would be necessary to unlock investment opportunities on young people in farms for agricultural competitiveness and food security in Africa. Originality/value This study adds to the literature on informal farm entrepreneurship and rural communities’ debate in sub-Saharan Africa. It concludes that business has obligation to help in solving problems of youth unemployment in developing countries.


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