Building social capital: a grassroots language program for refugees and politics of integration

Lika Rodin () and Andre Rodin ()
Additional contact information
Lika Rodin: University of Skövde
Andre Rodin: Swedish Migration Board

International Journal of Social Sciences, 2016, vol. 5, issue 3, 41-60

Abstract: With the increased migration stimulated by economic transformations and political unrest in different parts of the globe, the issue of cultural and economic integration of newcomers has become pressing for hosting societies. Apart from state-sponsored integration projects, various grassroots initiatives have started to emerge. This study looks at the format and effects of an informal education programme for refugees titled 'Capture the Moment and Learn Something New', organised by a person with a foreign background in a small-sized town in western Sweden. Through qualitative network analysis, we demonstrate ways in which the programme facilitates the development of interconnections within the group of newcomers and formation of a shared identity of a migrant, simultaneously helping acquisition of cultural fluency and social recognition that might improve immigrants? chances in establishing ties with the local ethnic majority. The notion of social capital is employed to explain variations in the range of resources potentially available for the newcomers.

Keywords: social networks; co-ethnic and cross-ethnic ties; ideology; civil society (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://iises.net/international-journal-of-social- ... blication-detail-758
https://iises.net/international-journal-of-social- ... etail-758?download=3

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sek:jijoss:v:5:y:2016:i:3:p:41-60

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Social Sciences is currently edited by Klara Cermakova, Tana Kubatova

More articles in International Journal of Social Sciences from International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Klara Cermakova ().