The module will explore how migration, education and development processes intersect across a range of local, national, regional and global contexts and are shaped by wider dynamics of globalisation, uneven development, conflict and inequality. It will look at the multiple – and often intersecting - causes of migration and reasons that people migrate both internationally and internally (including, for example, forced migration and displacement, trafficking, migration for educational or economic advancement, internal migration, seasonal labour migration, the movement of nomadic and pastoralist groups), and consider how these processes, often entailing movement of resources and ideas as well as people, interact with education and development in complex ways.

A key focus will be on understanding the implications of migration for education systems, practices, and the experiences and wellbeing of learners in both sending and receiving countries and communities. This will entail paying attention both to how migrants themselves engage with and experience education, and to experiences of immobility and the impact that migration has for those who stay behind or are unable to move. This includes, for example, consideration of the impact of remittances and the role of the diaspora in supporting processes of education and development in their communities of origin; looking critically at debates around ‘brain-drain’ and the impact of outward teacher migration in low-income contexts; examining how migration may shape educational aspirations among young people in communities of high outward mobility; and exploring the implications of rural-urban migration for ‘left-behind’ children.
Throughout the module case studies based on empirical research will be drawn on to enable students to explore concrete examples of some of the complex ways in which processes of migration, education and development interact in relation to different groups across a range of different contexts and settings.

Students not enrolled on a programme in the Education and International Development Cluster: To ensure that students have appropriate experience to attend the module, a brief statement of application is required. This should take the form of a personal statement of no more than 250 words (to be sent to the Module Administrator) at least 2 weeks before the module start date (or earlier if this will affect your enrolment on the module). Your statement should include clear reasons as to why you would like to study this module and an explanation of your relevant experience. Criteria for attending the module include: relevant paid or voluntary experience in a low or middle income country (as defined by the World Bank) or with migrant or refugee communities; an understanding of educational and development issues in the context of migration; a commitment to improving education in the context of migration, particularly in relation to low/middle income countries.

This module will be run as an intensive module over a 2 week period in term 3.