On the public and private spheres border, in the shadow of the debates about work, family and modern societies, women are working. They meet the care needs, allow the reconciliation of work and care of children, sick or elderly people and they try to ensure a better life for their families. Who are the contemporary female migrants? The feminization of migration is a consequence of economic changes, especially deep transformations of the labour market and social changes: moving away from traditional values, norms and cultural patterns, transition from collectivism to individualism. Female Female migration flows differ significantly from male ones. It should be stated here, and mentioned above, the placement of women primarily outside the formal labour market in domestic, private sphere, "in secret" which promotes the exploitation. Moreover, it should be noted that they are doing jobs which are traditionally assigned to their gender roles and therefore "invisible" in professional context. The redefinition of mother role and the associated responsibilities should also be mentioned here. These issues, mainly family and labour market, were discussed in Women migration in age of globalization session during the XIV Polish Sociological Congress, in Cracow in September 2010 and this volume is their outcome.
Parent and Child Migration – Challenges and Solutions for Social Support SystemAccording to the most recent demographic data, Poland remains a country of net emigration, with population outflows significantly higher than the numbers for the incoming flows. A high ratio of 75% of the temporary migrants has remained abroad for 12 months and longer becoming residents of immigration countries. Intensive international movements of Poles lead to changes in social relations and in family functioning and often to it temporary or permanent restructuring. They generate the full range of problems which in many cases require not just the extemporary reactions of social care institutions but the design of entire social security system to help and support families and children themselves. This article is focused on two significant challenges. First one is the situation of children whose parents (one or both) migrate and which are colloquially and stigmatizingly called Euro-orphans. The second one – connected mostly with education system – is the help for children returning to Poland and to the Polish school after a period of staying abroad.
The issue of the educational system should be one of the main points in the discussion about the integration, assimilation of immigrants, and multicultural societies. Since the introduction of compulsory schooling, the school became one of the main instruments to integrate the young generation into a society and culture, to provide the most equal opportunities for individual development, to acquire knowledge, skills or professional qualifications. On the macro-level we are asking if the educational system works properly in the society as a whole. On the mezzo-level, the problems of local communities and individual schools are raised. Finally, on the micro-level, we consider the needs of individual pupils or classes, their educational opportunities, aspirations and motivations, but also their feeling of discrimination.
The article takes up the issue of the gender-related specifics of the labour market in Po-land. It is only recently that women, their participation and role in the migration processes have become the subject of widespread research interest. One of the reasons is the growing demand for the work of migrants in the care sector - in the context of the ageing of developed societies. Care-related needs generate mobility of women from less affluent countries, and this phenomenon applies also to Poland. On the one hand, Polish women travel abroad to look after children, the elderly and the sick in Germany or Italy; on the other hand, women from Ukraine, Byelorussia or Russia pour into the largest Polish cities. This is a chance for ensuring a chance of education to their children. This allows higher- and middle-class women to reconcile professional and family roles, and at the same time supports the existing social and institutional order. The research points out the characteristic features of work in the household service sector. They include low wages, short contracts, and in many cases even employment inconsistent with the labour law in force, and not infrequently exploitation and humilitation. Instead of prestige, such work generates uncertainty, there are practically no chances of pro-motion. The irregular status of female migrants is an obstacle to use the offered form of sup-port and increases the threat of social exclusion.
Pojęcie domu, które zawsze jest niezwykle złożone, w kontekście procesów migracyjnych i przestrzeni transna- rodowych wymaga uwzględnienia wielu determinujących go czynników. Łączy bowiem przekraczanie różnych granic: państwowych, kulturowych, a także negocjacje w obrębie tradycji rodzinnych. W artykule pytamy, w którym momencie możemy mówić o stworzeniu domu przez migrantów, a także szukamy determinant loka- lizacji geogra cznej/materialnej i emocjonalnej/duchowej tegoż domu. gdzie jest dom jako budynek/miejsce zamieszania, a gdzie staje się on bezpieczną przystanią i miejscem, w którym migranci czują się u siebie. Po- kazujemy przenikanie się różnych „domów” w ojczyźnie i w kraju imigracji. dom jest tu rozumiany nie tylko jako miejsce schronienia, ale także jako trwały symbol wartości i idei wywiedzionych z kraju pochodzenia, jak również rozbudowanych i przekształconych w doświadczeniu migracyjnym. Pokazując narracje dotyczące domu oraz praktyki domowe zogniskowane wokół domowych sposobów świętowania i praktyk kulinarnych, omawiamy dom jako rodzinny projekt tożsamościowy.
Poland has been becoming a migrant country over the past years, experiencing recently increased visibility of migrant children at schools. At the same time, the issue of their support and integration remains on the margin of educational policy and depends on the activity of local authorities and, above all, of school head-teachers and teachers. Drawing on the qualitative study carried out in 2020 within the project CHILD-UP Children Hybrid Integration: Learning Dialogue as a way of Upgrading Policies of Participation (Horizon 2020) in schools in Kraków and South-East Poland (where one of the centres for foreigners is located), this article comprises a discussion on the extent to which Polish schools are ready to accept migrant (including refugee) children, to enhance their agency and support integration processes. Therefore, it raises a question whether schools are able to effectively support migrant children linguistically as well as help them enter into peer groups in the course of their educational activities.
Polish culture is strongly linked to both nuclear family and family networks, which are believed to safeguard stability and sense of security for individuals and communities. The migrations of young Polish men and women, which often scope to entire families, significantly alter the fundamentals of the above guarantees. The migration of Polish youth changes social expectations, possibilities of a family existing in an unchanged form, as well as provisions of care to those who need it, primarily children and elderly members of the kinship structure. For families affected by temporary migrations and experiencing increasingly settlement-oriented mobility, being “on the move” becomes “a way of life,” in which periods of “togetherness” are intertwined with much longer phases of separation. The practices and strategies employed by migrants in the hopes of overcoming the aforementioned challenges require thorough analysis. Therefore, a main goal of our article is to focus on multi-dimensional consequences of migration that pertain to the changes of ties and relationships in families, as well as the organization of child and elderly care.