Post-Migration Education Among Refugees in the Netherlands

Refugees face significant barriers in the labor markets of western countries due to limited transferability of educational credentials. Post-migration education can increase refugees’ chances in the labor market, but little is known about the prevalence and underlying patterns of such post-secondary educational investments. I contribute to the literature by analyzing survey data from the Netherlands on post-migration education among more than 3,000 adult refugees who come from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, former Yugoslavia, and Somalia. I find that refugees’ investments in schooling depend on both pre- and post-migration characteristics. Results show that post-migration schooling is more common among adult refugees who are higher educated, who arrived at a younger age, who have applied for recognition of their foreign education, and who have (successfully) participated in integration and/or language courses. When refugees are kept in an asylum center for a longer time, they are less likely to invest in post-migration education.

Commodifying Teacher Learning to Recruit: A Needs Analysis of Utah's Teaching as a Profession Curriculum

Drawing from the State of Utah’s Teaching as a Profession strands and standards documents, along with documents, web sites, and videos from supporting organizations like Educators Rising and its parent entities, this intrinsic case study sought to surface the perceived and relative teacher learning needs Utah’s curriculum developers appear to hold for secondary students interested in teaching and education careers. Six central teacher learning needs were identified in the study: 1) learning about the teaching profession; 2) developing a standardized vocabulary for education and teaching; 3) understanding teaching as a cycle with measurable outcomes; 4) producing teaching materials; 5) cultivating teaching skills, and 6) identifying difference in/between students. The study includes a discussion of the above needs and how the state and its partners have commodified early teacher learning by encouraging narrow, technical view of such learning while also promoting participation in a marketplace for educational credentials.

Outsiders Looking in. The Re-enrolment Struggles of Early School Leavers in Norway

Despite a vast literature on the causes and consequences of leaving school prematurely, little scholarly and policy attention has been paid to those who re-enter education after a temporary withdrawal. Re-enrolment is often portrayed in the literature as an active act of agency requiring inner drive. Based on 18 interviews with young early school leavers and re-enrolees in Norway, we construct two empirically founded re-enrolment narratives: ‘opposing otherness through dreams of ordinariness’ and ‘accepting the rules of the game—re-enrolment as a fragile opportunity’. Although embracing and reproducing the discourse about educational credentials as being the key to a happy life, the narratives do not support the idea of a re-enrolment drive as being vital to succeed within educational institutions. While they aspire for normality and believe normality is achieved through educational credentials, they are in need of a support system that either accommodates their individual needs, or nudges them back ‘on right track’.

Ethno-racial Disparities In Canada’s Labour Market: The Case Of Recent Graduates

This study explores the labour market outcomes of recent-graduate visible-minorities who did not obtain any non-Canadian educational credentials, of any level, prior to their graduation (e.g. “generation 1.5+”). Using the 2013 National Graduates Survey, which surveyed those who graduated from Canadian public-postsecondary institutions in the 2009-2010 academic year, this study assesses the incomes and (un)employment statuses of Canada’s four largest ethno-racial groups—Whites, South Asians, Chinese, and Blacks. Approximately 93% of the subsample under analysis is Canadian-born. The results show that, amongst those who held a full-time job at the time of the survey, the visible-minority subgroups do not experience any earnings penalties versus their White counterparts (by gender)—but rather some subgroups show earnings premiums. However, some visible-minority subgroups, such as the South Asian males, show substantially higher odds of being unemployed versus their White counterparts (by gender). Limitations and implications are discussed.

Ethno-racial Disparities In Canada’s Labour Market: The Case Of Recent Graduates

This study explores the labour market outcomes of recent-graduate visible-minorities who did not obtain any non-Canadian educational credentials, of any level, prior to their graduation (e.g. “generation 1.5+”). Using the 2013 National Graduates Survey, which surveyed those who graduated from Canadian public-postsecondary institutions in the 2009-2010 academic year, this study assesses the incomes and (un)employment statuses of Canada’s four largest ethno-racial groups—Whites, South Asians, Chinese, and Blacks. Approximately 93% of the subsample under analysis is Canadian-born. The results show that, amongst those who held a full-time job at the time of the survey, the visible-minority subgroups do not experience any earnings penalties versus their White counterparts (by gender)—but rather some subgroups show earnings premiums. However, some visible-minority subgroups, such as the South Asian males, show substantially higher odds of being unemployed versus their White counterparts (by gender). Limitations and implications are discussed.

Positional competition in a binary system: the case of Finnish higher education

Positional competition in the labour market entails graduate opportunities that depend not only on graduates’ skills, experience and abilities, but also on how their educational credentials compare to those of others. In this study, we examined the positional competition in the Finnish labour market and compared the influence of different ‘degree types’ on the probability of obtaining high-paid, high-status jobs. We used a register-based 5% sample of 25–45-year-old Finnish higher education (HE) graduates from 2010 to 2012 (N = 63 486). It was expected that the relative position of graduates would be affected by the degree level as well as the educational field and the binary division (university vs. non-university) of HE. Therefore, master’s and bachelor’s degree levels in all educational fields from universities versus universities of applied sciences (UASs) were included. The method of analysis was logistic regression. According to our results, the binary divide structured the opportunities to enter high-paid, high-status jobs within different fields of education. The university master’s degree graduates had the highest probability of succeeding in the Finnish labour market, and their status/rank elevated them above the competition by regulating access to certain professions or occupations through specific qualification requirements (i.e., credential social closure). Moreover, our results demonstrated how the degree rankings and the relative distance between university and UAS degrees vary in different fields. The Finnish case offers a valuable point of comparison to other HE systems with a binary structure.

Occupational mobility of Brazilian immigrants in segmented labour markets

Canada needs immigration in order to maintain economic success, thus Canada accepts approximately 250,000 immigrants from countries around the world. Some of these immigrants find themselves gaining employment in the secondary labour market in the service and construction sectors. This paper aims to identify and analyze the experiences and issues Brazilian immigrants face in segmented labour markets. The study incorporates the knowledge and information gained from interviewing fifteen Brazilians who have recently immigrated to Canada and are employed in either the construction or service sector. After an in depth study, the following research will explore the issues revolving around occupational mobility, barriers to employment, educational credentials, and personal attitudes that Brazilian immigrants face in the labour market.

Occupational mobility of Brazilian immigrants in segmented labour markets

Canada needs immigration in order to maintain economic success, thus Canada accepts approximately 250,000 immigrants from countries around the world. Some of these immigrants find themselves gaining employment in the secondary labour market in the service and construction sectors. This paper aims to identify and analyze the experiences and issues Brazilian immigrants face in segmented labour markets. The study incorporates the knowledge and information gained from interviewing fifteen Brazilians who have recently immigrated to Canada and are employed in either the construction or service sector. After an in depth study, the following research will explore the issues revolving around occupational mobility, barriers to employment, educational credentials, and personal attitudes that Brazilian immigrants face in the labour market.

Licensing and Registration of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Canada and Australia: an Explorative Study

Canadian and Australian licensing and registration policies regarding International Medical Graduates (IMGs) display some noticeable similarities and differences. Both receiving countries verify IMGs educational credentials, medical training, and language proficiency, apply examinations assessing the skills of this group of foreign trained doctors and tend to place IMGs in underserviced areas responding to health care workforce shortages. However, the Australian nationally regulated, focused on specific labour market needs approach to registration allows IMGs to use various pathways to registration. IMGs who enter Australia utilizing different immigration options have to be registered by the designated registration bodies and, in most cases, to have a verified offer of employment before they are granted visas by the immigration authorities. Consequently, they can start practicing medicine right after their arrival. On the contrary, their Canadian counterparts begin their licensing process only after they enter Canada as permanent residents. The urgent need for nationally consistent, pragmatic and flexible approach to licensing of foreign trained doctors in this country is emphasized.

Licensing and Registration of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Canada and Australia: an Explorative Study

Canadian and Australian licensing and registration policies regarding International Medical Graduates (IMGs) display some noticeable similarities and differences. Both receiving countries verify IMGs educational credentials, medical training, and language proficiency, apply examinations assessing the skills of this group of foreign trained doctors and tend to place IMGs in underserviced areas responding to health care workforce shortages. However, the Australian nationally regulated, focused on specific labour market needs approach to registration allows IMGs to use various pathways to registration. IMGs who enter Australia utilizing different immigration options have to be registered by the designated registration bodies and, in most cases, to have a verified offer of employment before they are granted visas by the immigration authorities. Consequently, they can start practicing medicine right after their arrival. On the contrary, their Canadian counterparts begin their licensing process only after they enter Canada as permanent residents. The urgent need for nationally consistent, pragmatic and flexible approach to licensing of foreign trained doctors in this country is emphasized.