Understanding the Effects of Transnational Mobility on Youth Transitions

Young people increasingly migrate abroad for work and education, and Australia is a significant hub for sending and receiving. Migration and education policies encourage this mobility, which is expected to provide youth with enhanced competitive skills. This project aims to examine transnational mobility amongst young people and to understand its effects on their economic opportunities, social and familial ties, capacity for citizenship and transitions to adulthood. The project involves a five-year longitudinal study of 2000 young people aged 18-30 of Indian, Chinese, Italian and British ancestry, including both Australian citizens/permanent residents who have left Australia, and overseas citizens/permanent residents who have entered Australia. Outcomes of this project include a significant quantitative and qualitative dataset on how youth from various cultural backgrounds manage mobility and develop economic, social and civic benefits for themselves and the broader community.

Researchers: Associate Professor Shanthi Robertson (ICS), Professor Anita Harris (Deakin University) and Associate Professor Loretta Baldassar (University of Western Australia)

Funding: Australian Research Council, Discovery Project (via Deakin University)

Period: 2017–2023

Project website (opens in a new window)

Projects

Research at ICS

People at ICS

Contact ICS

Contact ICS

The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.