Abstract: Global flows of migrant youth continue to be a highly topical and controversial issue with an increased focus on undocumented, unaccompanied and 1.5/second generation migrants. These populations are often perceived as vulnerable due to fluctuating legal status, feelings of marginalization as well as the trauma associated with forced migration.  This study presents findings from a systematic review of research published in academic journals on migrant school-aged youth activism, foregrounding the role of formal and informal education.  In a systematic analysis of the field, we ask how migrant youth activism is shaped, conceptualised and operationalised in contemporary research. In particular, our focus centres on examining the scholarly discourse pertaining to migrant youth activism and its implications for both education and social justice.

Over the last decade, a steady increase in youth activism had been documented, mainly concerning issues such as climate change, environmental activism (Hayik, 2021), human rights, LGBTQI+ activism (Terriquez, 2015), #BlackLivesMatter, Indigenous rights, #MeToo, etc. (Taft & O’Kane, 2023). We are witnessing to youth working both within the political system (Kwon, 2019), including seeking for inclusion as full-fledged citizens (Farini, 2019), as well as outside of it (Kosko et al., 2022). Research continues to highlight the role youth play in raising awareness regarding not only social and legal issues (Müller-Funk, 2020), but also seeking justice (Cin et al., 2023) and recognition for their own communities and the world in general (Riniolo & Ortensi, 2021; Shin et al., 2023). According to Choudry (2015) youth activists learn and produce valuable knowledge as they navigate diverse contexts. They often show a capacity to “link their personal problems to a broader set of social, political, and economic forces and to direct their energies toward transforming them” (Ismail & Pottier, 2023, p. 2).

There is an imperative to comprehensively study the current research agenda concerning youth activism. Scholars have showed that, despite variations in interest and participation across racial, ethnic and religious groups, and cultural contexts (Liu et al., 2023; Shin et al., 2023), the study of migrant youth has received less attention (Mora et al., 2018). School-age students is another underrepresented group in activism research. First, this group is often considered challenging to reach due to the legal regulations about minors (Black et al., 2022; Literat & Kligler-Vilenchik, 2018). Secondly, in many countries it is assumed that school-age students have a limited voice (Karsgaard & Davidson, 2023). However, what limited research exists emphasizes how youth develop as activists over time (Astuto & Ruck, 2010; Bellino et al., 2021), and how their life experiences motivate them (Ballard et al., 2015). It also highlights that migrant youth deserves its own niche in activism studies (Azzolini, 2016; Hochman & García-Albacete, 2019; Trisokka et al., 2021). 

We are interested in mapping the landscape of school-age migrant youth activism.  Drawing on a systematic literature review approach, our presentation addresses three central research questions: 1) What are the prevailing trends in research on migrant youth activism? 2) What theoretical and methodological foundations underlie the research in this domain? 3) What are the key focal areas within the field of migrant youth activism?

For the purpose of this study, a broad definition of activism was accepted, where we interpreted activism as any action aimed at social change. This working definition was utilised during the screening phase to determine whether to include a particular paper or not.  This allowed the inclusion of different forms and representations of activism, which are often context-specific and go beyond a preset form of activities (Taft & O’Kane, 2023). 

The review employs a comprehensive systematic literature review methodology following the PRISMA statement (Alexander, 2020; Page et al., 2021) and utilizes a wide range of search terms to capture a diverse selection of peer-reviewed publications in the range of years 2007-2023. The process of developing a comprehensive set of search terms for the systematic review involved multiple stages and considerations. The initial step included the creation of an extensive list of potential search terms related to the three core topics: "migrant," "youth," and "activism." Synonyms for each core term were then identified, intentionally incorporating redundancy in the initial version. Collaborative discussions between the authors resulted in a consensus on modifications, leading to the creation of a final list of search terms for each topic. The permutations of these terms generated a total of 5700 search phrases, which proved impractical to execute across three databases. To address this challenge and narrow down the scope, an expert survey was conducted involving seven international experts with diverse experience in youth activism. The experts independently ranked the search terms based on their likelihood to appear in peer-reviewed articles. The average rank for each term was calculated, and the lists were sorted accordingly. The final list of search terms included eight terms for "migrant" and "activism" topics and seven terms for the "youth" topic. Notably, the terms "Agency" and "Campaign*" were added to the final list for "Activism," while "Emigrant" and "Young adult" were excluded from the "Migrant" list. The survey results and expert recommendations guided the selection of these terms. ISI WOS (Topic), ERIC, and EBSCO (Abstract) databases were chosen for the study, and the search was conducted in September and November 2023 for all the 448 combinations. Additionally, backward and forward citation searches were conducted, and influential journals and authors were identified for further exploration. 8810 papers after removing duplicates and technical leaning were screened resulted with 163 included for full text analysis. The eligibility criteria focused on peer-reviewed articles in English, with full-text access, and related to activism of school-age children and adolescents of migrant background. The comprehensive analysis not only encompasses the general attributes of the papers but also delves into the underlying theories, methodologies, and substantive themes present within the literature.

The results indicate that the USA predictably taking the lead (n=69), followed by many studies which place significant emphasis on the European context (n=31), where the 2015 migrant crisis has not only influenced political and social lives but has also shaped the research agenda. The review highlights various forms of activism manifestation, including protests, art-based projects, community service, volunteering, and political participation in a broad sense. Not only migrants themselves, but also various NGOs, schools, and social work representatives, were documented in research as actively involved in defending the rights of migrant youth and working towards integrating this often marginalised population into social and political spheres at both the local and global levels. The results showed that salient topics such as gender issues, including #metoo movements, human rights in general, climate change, which are well-identified in the citizenship education and activism literature, are not as prevalent in the cases where school-age migrant students decide to engage in activism (De Jesús et al., 2015). We found that research in the field of youth migrant activism often focus on the issues of their own rights as migrants, their inclusion into the host society or local communities, and their fight against anti-immigrant or religious sentiments. In mapping the field of research migrant youth activism, our study furthers knowledge in educational research in three ways: first, we highlight the specific forms of activism migrant youth are engaged in which is of relevance to educators and school leaders. Second, we highlight the role education, conceived broadly, plays in migrant youth activism. Third, we consider the gaps in the research agenda to date and provide possible research directions for the future.

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