Asylum seeking children's feelings about staying in Finland and repatriation

Author(s):

Minna Lähteenmäki

Conference:

ECER 2010

Network:

25. Research on Children's Rights in Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

25 SES 03, Childrens' Voices, Participation and Agency

Paper Session

Time:

2010-08-25

14:00-15:30

Room:

AUDITORIUM IV, Päärakennus / Main Building

Chair:

John I'Anson

Contribution

My doctoral thesis will propose to address the day-to-day life of children who seek asylum in Finland together with their families in the context of Finnish refugee reception centres and schools. I shall consider the significance of family, the reception centre, preparatory education and after-school group in a situation where the asylum seeking child is trying to cope with her or his difficult condition. Another strain of the study will concentrate on the support provided by networks and the children’s own experience of their lives in the midst of their asylum-seeking process – on how they reflect their present life on their past and future.

Method

I will use twelve ethnographic interview and field notes which are produced in two Finnish reception centre, in a preparatory school group and in an after-school group in 2005-2006.

Expected Outcomes

My presentation will discuss asylum seeking pupil's feelings about staying in Finland and repatriation. I consider how the receiving residence permit or expulsion decision affects the everyday life of two reception centre, one preparatory education class and one after-school group. I will discuss what kind of dreams children have and what the adults think about the futures of the children if the families can stay in Finland. In addition I will consider what children and their parents remember children´s every day lives in their home countries and what they feel about their possible return.

References

Aronsson, B., Wiberg, C., Sandstedt, P. & Hjern, A. 2009. Asylum-seeking children with severe loss of activities of daily living: clinical signs and course during rehabilitation. Acta Paediatr 2009; 98: 1977-81. Asher, S. & Parker, J. 1989. Significance of Peer Relationship Problems in Childood. Teoksessa B. Schneider, G. Attili, J. Nadel & R. Weissberg (toim.) Social Competence in Developmental Perspective. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 5–24. Bloemen, E., Vloeberghs, E. & Smits, C. 2006. Psychological and psychiaric aspects of recounting traumatic events by asylum seekers. Teoksessa Bruin R., Reneman M., Bloemen E.(toim); Care full – medico-legal reports and the Istanbul Protocol in Asylum Procedures. Pharos – Knowledge Centre on Refugees and Health, Amnesty International, Dutch section & the Dutch Council for Refugees, Utrecht/ Amsterdam, 2006:42-85. Bodegård G. 2005. Pervasive loss of function in asylum-seeking children in Sweden. Acta Paediatr 2005; 94: 1706–7. Ojanen, T., Grönroos, M. & Salmivalli, C. 2005. An Interpersonal circumplex model of children’s social goals. Links with peer-reported behavior and sociometric status. Developmental Psychology 41, 699–710. Thorne, B. 1993. Gender play. Girls and boys in school. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Author Information

Minna Lähteenmäki

University of Helsinki

Institute of Behavioural Sciences

Mertie

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