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How does a beginning teacher go about constructing a teacherly identity in a pandemic? How does one reconcile what might be with what is, as dictated by the rhetoric of a neoliberal government, which prizes the individual mind over the collective one, the product over the process, and results over relationships? This essay explores these questions through the experience of reading "Jane Eyre" with a Year 9 English class. Personal and professional stories form the core of this investigation that explores the complexities of finding a teacherly identity; this is a discussion about aims and values and relationships, rather than just 'effective' teaching strategies.

Following the dramatic evacuation from Kabul airport in August 2021, the UK government proclaimed its commitment to a 'warm welcome' for Afghans. In this paper we draw on original qualitative research to explore the emerging experiences of evacuees, and other recent arrivals, during their first year in London. Using the narratives of our Afghans participants, as well as insights from key stakeholders, we show how they navigated slow, opaque bureaucratic processes and lack of communication with official agencies. As a result of these lengthy processes, many thousands of evacuees remained in temporary hotel accommodation for protracted periods. Drawing on the concept of 'everyday bordering', we explore the extent to which Afghan resettlement policies are achieving their objectives. We consider how such policies are birthed within a punitive immigration system, which is designed to 'wear down' migrants in the UK, regardless of their reason for migration. Moreover, we argue that the ad hoc response of the Home Office and the Foreign Office has created 'false distinctions' between categories of Afghan refugees, reinforcing notions of 'deserving' versus 'underserving' migrants. This distinction allows the government to present itself as humanitarian, 'rescuing' people from Afghanistan, while simultaneously maintaining its commitment to the 'hostile immigration environment'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Collecting network data can challenge some key assumptions about research ethics. • There is a need to go beyond the dichotomy: 'real' vs 'perceived data'. • The presentation of self is a crucial step between perceptions and data collection. • Visual research can have major impact when disrupting the presentation of self. • An ethical approach to network research requires reflexivity, not just guidelines. Drawing on the seminal work of Goffman, Krackhardt and others, this paper argues that there is a crucial step in between participants' perceptions and the collection and visualisation of data – i.e. what we call the presentation of the networked self. We employ examples from our own empirical work in the UK to argue that the presentation of the networked self requires researchers to adopt a highly reflexive approach. Framing our analysis within the context of contemporary society – including the impact of social media on a 'networking mindset' – we explore the range of ethical dilemmas which can emerge during a research encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration under the European Union's (EU) Freedom of Movement is constructed as temporary and circular, implying that migrants respond to changing circumstances by returning home or moving elsewhere. This construction underpins predictions of an exodus of EU migrants from the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of Brexit. While migration data indicate an increase in outflows since the vote to leave the EU, the scale does not constitute a "Brexodus." Moreover, EU migrants' applications for UK citizenship have been increasing. The data, though, are not sufficiently detailed to reveal who is responding to Brexit in which way. This article aims to offer a deeper understanding of how migrants experience and respond to changing geopolitical episodes such as Brexit. Introducing the term "unsettling events," we analyze data collected longitudinally, in the context of three moments of significant change: 2004 EU enlargement, 2008–09 economic recession, and Brexit. Examining our data, mainly on Polish migrants, through a life-course lens, our findings highlight the need to account for the situatedness of migrant experiences as lived in particular times (both personal and historical), places, and relationships. In so doing, we reveal various factors informing migrants' experiences of and reactions to unsettling events and the ways in which their experiences and reactions potentially impact migration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As levels of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) remain high in the UK, there is growing concern about processes of school disengagement. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, we explore some factors that lead young people to disengage from – and potentially re-engage with – schooling. The research employed a sequential design with a quantitative survey of students, followed by two rounds of interviews with a sub-sample of young people. Statistical analysis of our survey confirmed that, for our respondents, school engagement is mediated through perceptions of support. Through longitudinal qualitative data, we consider which sources of support appear to be most important for participants, how changes in perceptions of support affect levels of engagement and how these may change over time. We aim to contribute to the literature by showing that increasing perceptions of support can positively influence school engagement. Drawing on theories of social capital, we illustrate how complex and dynamic interplays between diffuse actors can provide access to differentiated resources, including economic, social and cultural capital, with varied outcomes for school engagement. We also show how fluid and dynamic processes of engagement and the interplay with support can provide opportunities for promoting positive educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting a spatio‐temporal lens, this article explores how highly qualified migrant women negotiate relationships and career motivations in specific socio‐structural contexts. Comparing migration experiences of Irish and Polish women in London, I explore similarities within and differences between these groups. Having joined the EU in 1973, Ireland can be regarded as part of "old EU", while Poland joining in 2004 is part of the "new" wave of EU members. Migration from old and new member states is often discussed separately using different framing. This article contributes to understanding migration in three ways. Firstly, by developing comparative analysis, which goes beyond narrow and static migrant categories. Secondly, by challenging the temporary/transient versus permanence/integration dichotomy to explore a "sliding scale" of migrant trajectories. Thirdly, by illustrating how evolving relationships, through the life cycle, may enable but also hinder migrant women's opportunities for settling in or moving on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing on Granovetter’s classic work on embeddedness in systems of social relations, this paper proposes the concept of ‘differentiated embedding’ to explore how migrants negotiate attachment and belonging as dynamic temporal, spatial and relational processes. When Poland joined the EU in May 2004, the large flow of migrants to the UK was perceived by many migration researchers as heralding a new form of transient mobility associated with short-term, temporary and circular migration, and high levels of transnationalism. Relatively little attention was paid to how these migrants were integrating in local contexts. Based on 20 in-depth interviews and network mapping with Polish migrants, resident in London for a decade, I examine why participants extended their stay and how their decisions were shaped by interpersonal relationships locally and transnationally. London as a ‘superdiverse’, global city offers place-specific opportunities for building networks and developing processes of embedding. Nonetheless, a focus on networks risks overlooking the wider structural context in which migrants live and work. Thus, I argue, there is a need for a differentiated concept to capture the nuanced interplay of structural, relational, spatial and temporal embedding. This concept not only captures multi-scalarity and multi-sectorality but also levels of belonging and attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper, drawing on narrative analysis of qualitative research with Irish highly qualified migrants in Britain, examines the processes of friendship-making in contexts of mobility. In so doing, I consider what stories of making new friends in new places, reveal about interconnections between selection opportunities but also obstacles, as well as the role of preferences and shared interests. My work contributes to the recent resurgence of interest in place by exploring the salience of proximate, situated, local relationships as sources of emotional support and sociality, even among migrant professionals. Adopting a focus on friendship-making, I seek to go beyond a narrow notion of homophily—defined by an ethnic lens—to understand how migrants draw upon different aspects of identities to forge links and build relationships with a diverse range of people. The paper lies at the nexus of related but distinct bodies of literature—migration, social network analysis and friendship—to explore where, how, why and with who migrants form new friendship networks. I suggest that by connecting these approaches there is potential not only to develop a more thorough understanding of sociality in mobility but also to overcome some gaps within each of these approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the experiences of recent Irish highly qualified migrants who, having left post-Celtic Tiger Ireland, arrive in post-‘Peace Agreement’ Britain. Our paper contributes to understanding the enduring salience of place and how expressions of identities are framed by specific place-based factors as well as by temporality. We explore how these migrants’ narratives, as ‘successful’ professionals, are framed by complex intersections of historical legacies and changing socio-economic and intra-EU migration patterns. We consider the extent to which residual anti-Irish stereotypes remain, or indeed have re-emerged since the economic recession, and how these negative perceptions may impact on expressions of Irishness. Focusing on accents and other markers of identity, we discuss how Irishness may be constructed through a spectrum of visibilities at different times and in different places. This spatial-temporal perspective may help to go beyond a simplistic, one dimensional ethnic lens by highlighting the contextualities of identities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Focusing on the working experiences of the French highly skilled in London's financial and business sectors, this paper examines the impact of ongoing pan-European variegation on intra-EU highly skilled migration in two key respects: firstly, in its role as a driver for mobility, through its association with divergent opportunity structures across different nations and regions; and secondly, as a potential obstacle to the successful realization of such opportunities, post migration, where mobility exposes the highly skilled migrant to new and embedded forms of difference. Such differences necessitate adaptations, and the acquisition of new inter-cultural competencies, that go on to mediate the experience, evaluations and outcomes of such opportunity-driven mobilities. In unpacking the particularities associated with the mobilities of specific populations (the French), to specific places (London) we seek to contribute to a people and place-sensitive understanding of the relationship between spatial mobility and social mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the migratory strategies of highly skilled French migrants in London's business and financial sectors. Drawing on qualitative data with 37 participants from this under-researched group, we contribute to the growing interest in micro-level analysis of the motivations, experiences and trajectories of highly skilled migrants. Unlike other studies which either focus on Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs) or exclude them entirely, we capture the complexity and fluidity of migrants' trajectories by including people on expatriate contracts as well as spontaneous movers. In so doing, we interrogate several key dimensions of highly skilled migration. Firstly, we examine the varied expectations and motivations of the French highly skilled moving to London. In particular, we highlight the fluidity of career trajectories as migrants transform their contractual position over time. Secondly, we examine how migrants negotiate the balance between mobility and career and personal emplacement, and how family considerations inform that process. Finally, we consider the extent to which these migrants may be described as ‘Eurostars’ or ‘super-movers’, and question whether these ideal types herald new forms of migration or a particular life-stage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Poland's accession to the European Union in May 2004 brought many new possibilities and opportunities for Polish migrants to the United Kingdom. However, the focus on individual migrants has underestimated the complex roles of families in migration strategies and decision making. This paper brings together data from two studies of Polish migrants in London. In 2006-2007, we carried out a qualitative study, Recent Polish Migrants in London. That research examined how families may be reconfigured in different ways through migration, for example, transnational networks and splits within families. While the study participants represented varied examples of family reunification, they also revealed the complex decision making processes about leaving, staying, rejoining and returning. In our most recent study, Polish Children in London Primary Schools, we interviewed parents, who had migrated with children, about their experiences and expectations of London schools. This study revealed that the age of children was usually a factor in family migration decision making. There was a common expectation that younger children could easily adapt to a new school and learn English quickly. Drawing on the findings of these two studies, this paper will explore firstly, the variety of family migration strategies and secondly, the factors that inform migrants' decisions to bring their families (especially children) or to leave them back home. Finally, the paper concludes by considering some of the policy implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential for comparative research across different migrant groups. Research on migration is often weakened by the marked tendency to use a single ethnic/national group as the unit of analysis. Analysing migration from the experiences of a particular ethnic group may exaggerate ethnic exceptionalism and understate the extent to which experiences are shared across different migrant groups. My recent experiences on a range of research projects with diverse migrants to London made me think about similarities with the Irish, but each in different ways. However, there is a dearth of comparative analysis in relation to the Irish experience in Britain. On the one hand, there are many studies of Irish migrants, but these tend to focus solely on the Irish or else examine the relationship between Irish migrants and the ‘native’ British population. There has been little work on how the Irish relate to other migrant groups within British society. On the other hand, studies of other migrant communities rarely refer to the Irish as a comparative group. The article explores the reasons for the dearth of comparative work involving Irish migrants in Britain. In so doing, it considers some of the benefits and challenges of going beyond the ‘ethnic lens’. What would be gained but also lost by viewing Irish migration to Britain through a more comparative perspective? I explore how such comparative analysis might contribute, firstly, to a wider understanding of migration processes, experiences and inter-migrant relations, and, secondly, to a fuller appreciation of varied dimensions of migratory experiences in Britain. These issues are considered through a comparison of Polish and Irish migration to Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper draws upon research with mothers of diverse Muslim backgrounds in London to explore how these women use 'conservative' interpretations of Islamic beliefs and practices to underpin their parenting strategies. In particular the paper looks at how mothers use religion as a frame to make sense of and give meaning to their experiences and encounters in Britain. We suggest that the women use Islam in four key ways: (i) as a framework for teaching their children right and wrong, (ii) as a means of protecting children from the 'moral' dangers of British society, (iii) as an authoritative voice that reinforces parenting and (iv) as a means of critiquing specific aspects of both the traditional and British culture in which they live and daily negotiate their different cultural and religious belonging. In attempting to instil religious values in their Londonbased children, these mothers have to negotiate the hostility that Islam increasingly provokes in British society's public arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the post 9/11 and 7/7 era how does collective stigmatization impact on Muslim women in Britain? Drawing on interviews with women from diverse Muslim backgrounds, this article explores how they experience and seek to resist anti-Islamic stigma. Using a Goffmanian framework, I examine how women resist stigmatization by asserting their moral integrity and laying claim to ‘the normal’. Particular attention is paid to how normality is constructed through the presentation and dressing of the self in everyday encounters. While on the surface the women embrace a shared sense of being ‘just normal’, further analysis reveals very different interpretations of what that might mean. Thus, the article additionally questions what is meant by being a ‘normal’ Muslim woman in multicultural Britain and examines the extent to which this can ever be attained. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is based on a qualitative study of recent Polish migrants in London (). The paper reveals the roles that different family members played in the migration narratives of these Polish migrants. In order to gain a broader understanding of migration patterns, it is necessary to explore what is meant by 'the family' and how this may operate transnationally. By examining spatially dispersed relationships, the paper aims to contribute to an understanding of transnational families. In addition, by highlighting the various ways in which families may be split, reunited, and reshaped through the process of migration, the paper argues for a need to explore the shifting ties between relatives 'here' and 'there'. The paper explores the dynamism of these relationships over time in the context of specific immigration regimes and the interplay with local attachments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland's accession to the European Union in May 2004 brought many new possibilities and opportunities for Polish migrants to Britain. However, the focus on individual migrants has underestimated the complex roles of families in migration strategies and decision-making. Based on a qualitative study of recent Polish migrants in London, this paper explores the varied dynamics of family relationships, including caring, support and obligation. We examine how families may be reconfigured in different ways through migration. Transnational networks and splits within families are also discussed. We conclude that, in exploring family migration, it is necessary to go beyond a household perspective to appreciate the diversity of transnational and inter-generational relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on in-depth interviews with migrants in different locations in Poland and the UK and explores Polish migrant decision making in both countries. In particular, we ask how migrants build networks, how this influences their decisions about the duration of their stay abroad, and the implications of network building for community cohesion. Networks exist within the sending country; between the sending and the receiving country; within diasporas; and between diasporas and the receiving community. Our article considers the first three sections of this chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on interviews with 25 Irish nurses living and working in Britain, the primary aim of this paper is to explore migration as an ongoing emotional journey. Drawing on the work of Hochschild, the paper explores how migrants discuss, describe and manage their emotions. In particular, the paper will explore the role of “emotion culture” in shaping the appropriate management and display of feelings. I discuss the women's early experiences of migration and how they managed their emotions of loneliness and homesickness. I examine how the women navigate the emotional terrain of transnational families and expectations of support and obligation. The paper focuses on how the stresses and strains of marriage and motherhood were negotiated and what happens when “emotion culture” and “display rules” are broken. Emotions are not just a topic of research; they also impact on the research process. One way of trying to uncover the emotions underpinning these interviews is by adopting a reflexive approach to the research process. Hence, as a second aim, the paper employs a reflexive approach to chart my own personal navigation of this emotional terrain both as an interviewer but also as a migrant and mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws upon interviews with twenty-six Irish nurses in Britain, who mostly migrated in the 1950s-1970s. It aims to contribute to understandings of the processes involved in constructions and negotiations of Irish identity in Britain. As a predominantly white ethnic group, Irish migrants in Britain occupy an ambiguous position as white, European insiders, but cultural outsiders. Focusing on a number of 'construction sites', such as hospitals, nurses' homes and social venues, the article examines not only how the women experienced and expressed their identities as Irish migrants but also how they encountered 'other' ethnicities. Rather than a simple, one-dimensional notion of Irish ethnic identity, the study analyses the complex, multi-layered and shifting dynamics within these 'construction sites' and how intersections of gender, location and occupational status impacted on both ascriptions and experiences of Irishness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the experiences of Irish nurses who have emigrated to Britain. The author draws on a case study of Irish nurses in the country to contribute to a better understanding of how migrant women access and utilize local ties after migration. Though transnational networks challenge the equation between spatial proximity and social interaction, the author suggests that it is particularly important to examine day-to-day practical support and local knowledge for female migrants.

Background: There is evidence that Irish migrants in Britain have higher rates of depression and suicide than other minority ethnic groups.Aims: To examine the association between poorly planned migration and depression in Irish-born people living in London.Method: A sample of 360 Irish-born people was recruited from 11 general practices into a case-control study. Participants were interviewed using standardised measures, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). We calculated the odds ratio for any association between depression and eight questions on preparation for migration.Results: Poorly planned migration was associated with subsequent depression in Irish-born people living in London (OR=1.20, 95% CI1.06-1.35). The odds of depression were increased by a factor of 20% for each additional negative answer to eight questions on preparation for migration. Positive post-migration influences such as adequate social support protected some against depression.Conclusions: Depression in Irish-born people living in London is associated with poorly planned migration. However, this effect can be modified by experiences following migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent increase in transnational migration among women has lead to a reappraisal of theoretical explanations of migratory movement ( ; ; ). This paper reviews a number of theoretical explanations of transnational migration and then applies these theories to a qualitative study of women who migrated from Ireland to Britain in the 1930s. I explore the women's reasons for leaving Ireland and their experiences as young economic migrants in Britain in the inter-war years. Women have made up the majority of Irish migrants to Britain for much of the twentieth century yet the dominant stereotype of the Irish migrant has been the Mick or Paddy image ( ). Through an analysis of these twelve women's narratives of migration, I explore themes such as household strategies and familial networks. I am interested in the interwoven explanations of migration as both a form of escape ( ) and a rational family strategy and, hence, the ways in which women's decision to migrate can be seen as a combination of both active agency and family obligation. Drawing on the work of ) as well as ) and , ), I will analyse the ways in which family connections may transcend migration and engage with the concept of ‘transnational family’ ( ). In so doing, I raise questions about the complex nature of migration and the extent to which it could be described in terms of empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Irish geographical and cultural propinquity to the UK might be considered as an advantage to migrants. However, research over 40 years shows Irish migrants to have consistent high vulnerability to mental disorders. Only recently have researchers begun to explore the reasons for this morbidity. Taking a previous epidemiological study on depression and Irish migrants as a point of departure, we explored the reasons for this morbidity—we hypothesised that depression may be related to unprepared or spontaneous migration. We report on a qualitative study in order to clarify how, from the migrant''s perspective, migration might be related to depression. These perspectives were obtained through in-depth interviews with Irish-born migrants aged 18 and over living in London in order to explore psychological distress through a contextualised ‘insiders’ account. The interviews were completed with men and women who experienced depression and others who had not. We found that previous theories on Irish migrant psychiatric disorder such as racial discrimination were not supported by the narratives of Irish migrant experience. For many participants, the origins of distress are located in Ireland or in difficult life events and circumstances without a direct relationship to migration. This paper examines the causal attributes to depression among Irish migrants in the UK in the context of pre- and post-migration experiences with particular focus on gender and age. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]