16th annual IMISCOE conference in Malmö

26. – 28.06.2019

Auf der IMISCOE Conference an der Universität Malmö hielt Magdalena Jäger einen Vortrag zum Thema "Qualitative research on integration in rural areas – Some methodological reflections". Holger Jahnke präsentierte einen Vortrag mit dem Titel "Reflecting multilevel governance of social integration from the local perspective – A German-Danish Comparison".

Die 16te IMISCOE Annual conference 2019, mit dem Titel "International Migration in the 21st Century: Conceptual and Methodological Approaches" fand in Malmö statt. Konzeptionelle und methodologische Perspektiven standen im Mittelpunkt der Konferenz, um der zunehmenden Diversität und Komplexität internationaler Migrationsbewegungen besser begegnen zu können. Ziel war es, neuen Denkrichtungen sowie innovativen methodischen Ansätze in der Fluchtforschung Raum zu geben.

Die Beiträge der Session "Reflection on Methods" ermöglichten den Austausch über Methoden in der Fluchtforschung, sowie über deren spezifische Chancen und Fallstricke. Der Vortrag von Magdalena Jäger in der Session basierte auf den Erfahrungen hinsichtlich bestimmter Kommunikations- und Interaktionsstrukturen, die im Rahmen von Integrationsprozessen von Geflüchteten in ländlichen Räumen stattfinden. Aus den bisherigen Forschungsergebnissen kann abgeleitet werden, dass in ländlichen Räumen spezifische Verständnisse von Integration und Partizipation bestehen, in denen es eine klare Unterscheidung in ‚Insider‘ und ‚Outsider‘ gibt und von neu ankommenden geflüchtete Menschen erwartet wird, dass sie an lokalen Aktivitäten und öffentlichen Räumen teilhaben, um sich als ‚Insider‘ zu etablieren.

Abstract: Qualitative research on integration in rural areas – Some methodological reflections

In this presentation, we want to discuss specific structures of communication and interaction which we have encountered during our research on integration of refugees in small rural communities: a) the territorialized distinction between insiders and outsiders based on origin and the time period of residency in the municipality; b) the perception of a sense of community which can be marked simultaneously by rather persistent structures of coherence based on historical experiences and c) a predominance of informal structures of communication, interaction and practices even in formally institutionalized settings.

These characteristics lead to the hypothesis of specific understandings of integration and participation in rural areas. The first findings of our research indicate a clear idea of integration from local "insiders" working and living in place, and expecting refugees to join established local activities and public spaces. In contrast, interviewed "outsiders" who commute to work in community tend to offer a more differentiated understanding of integration pointing at participation and negotiation. These findings open the question of methodological consequences for the research process, which we would like to discuss in the presentation. 

The findings are based on a series of expert interviews that have been carried out in the German-Danish border region in the framework of a broader research project on the access to education and participation of young refugees in rural communities.

Der Konferenzbeitrag von Holger Jahnke behandelte das bislang unzureichend untersuchte Phänomen der sozialen Integration, in die non-formale und informelle Bildung eingeschlossen sind. Im Projekt "Bildung und Flucht" wird untersucht, wie soziale Integration in Deutschland und Dänemark mithilfe von Mehrebenen-Systemen organisiert und auf der lokalen Ebene im ländlichen Raum umgesetzt wird.

Abstract: Reflecting multilevel governance of social integration from the local perspective – A German-Danish Comparison

Integration policies in different European countries have been broadly discussed since the arrival of refugees in 2015. While policy analysis often looks at issues of employment, housing, formal education and health and the respective legal and political frameworks, the more fuzzy phenomenon of social integration comprising non-formal and informal education has received less attention.

In our paper, we analyze the impacts and perceptions of two different multilevel governance regimes of national social integration policies using Denmark and Germany as case studies. Our analysis focuses on the local level where national policies are enacted and negotiated between new immigrants, local institutional actors and civil society actors. For our empirical case studies we have chosen two neighboring municipalities on both sides of the German-Danish border. They are comparable in structure, population size, number of new migrants as well as their geographical location.

Starting from a comparative analysis of the multilevel governance structures of social integration in Northern Germany and Southern Denmark, the paper follows a three-step empirical research in the two case study municipalities: (A) detailed mappings of the two resulting local institutional landscapes for integration, (B) structured interviews with local key actors professionally or voluntarily involved in social integration with a focus on the perception of their respective national social integration policies and (C) semi-structured group interviews with young refugees with regard to their personal experiences of their own social integration and participation opportunities.