This symposium is situated within the growing, though still scant, literature on education and social experiences of immigrant pupils from Eastern and Central Europe in Western European schools (Moskal 2010; Mendes 2009; Howson & Sallah 2009). The objective of the symposium is to review this field, to explore the social, educational and ethnic identity work by young immigrants revealed in research projects conducted in four European countries, and, ultimately, to contribute to the debates concerning the politics of schooling in the migration age. ECER in Berlin provides an excellent location to discuss the intra-European migration that resulted from the fall of the Berlin Wall, educational and social reactions triggered by these new migration patterns. The symposium will stimulate the creation of a research group of scholars interested in the area, and will identify some of the areas for further investigation within the Network, as incorporation of immigrants is related to issues of intercultural and inclusive education and social justice.

The four papers forming this symposium draw upon exploratory research studies of first-generation Eastern European immigrant youth conducted within diverse contexts in England, Scotland, Iceland and Portugal. Research participants were from countries in the eastern part of the EU (i.e., Poland, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia) and from those beyond the EU (i.e., Ukraine). Three of the contributions employ qualitative research approaches and youth-centred methodologies, including ethnographic observations, individual and group interviews, while the fourth paper reports on a mixed-method research where a pupil survey extends a qualitative phase of the study. The theoretical frameworks are diverse and draw on social constructionist and critical theories about culture and society (Burr 2003; Hall 1992; Gruenewald 2003; Ladson-Billings 1998), social capital theory (Putnam 2000). 

The symposium addresses a range of issues around young migrants’ experiences in the ‘host’ society. A study conducted in Scotland examines the experiences of a diverse group of Eastern European migrant children and their life after migration. Another contribution takes a comparative angle to analyse the forms of everyday inclusion and exclusion in two English schools through experiences of British-born minority ethnic youth and recently migrated Polish youth. Extending the Critical Race Theory to expose the embedded practices and histories of racism in British society (Lauder et al. 2006), this ethnography analyses new patterns of race relations in schools in relation to the presence of White immigrants. The other two papers address the phenomenon of complementary ethnic schooling – the result of the increased social diversity (Lytra & Martin 2010; Li 2006). Both papers examine Saturday schools set up by Eastern European immigrants and offer insights into the values and practices of the schools and the construction of culture, difference and various identities by pupils attending them. Specifically, the comparative paper explores the role of two Polish complementary urban schools located in Iceland and England with regard to the incorporation of young migrants. The final paper, based on research conducted in Portugal, examines the various purposes of Ukrainian community schools through the eyes of pupils, their parents and teachers.