Abstract
Internationally increasing attention is being given to children’s well-being as nation states recognise the value of investment in children for long term sustainability and economic development (Unicef, 2009). The renewed focus on children’s well-being is also underpinned by a recognition of children’s rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), not only to a safe, healthy and fulfilling childhood, but also one in which their views and perspectives on matters which directly affect them are taken into account. Education continually emerges as a key factor influencing children’s well-being and comparative research across countries globally (e.g. PISA studies OECD, 2006) highlights substantial differences in children’s education outcomes. Migrant children emerge consistently as one group around which there is cause for concern, yet basic accounts of ‘outcomes’ on a narrow range of indicators (typically maths, science and literacy) fail to capture the complexity of children’s responses to their learning, nor to the factors and processes which give rise to different experiences of educational well-being, broadly defined. Furthermore, in spite of the increasing recognition being given to children to be involved in decisions about their lives, education systems appear slow to embrace the idea of real and meaningful engagement with children about their educational experiences (Devine, 2003). This is then another key element of their educational ‘well-being’ and has very explicit consequences for children, such as those from an immigrant background, who may differ from the cultural and social norms which predominate in schools.
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Devine, D. (2011). Securing Migrant Children’s Educational Well-Being. In: Darmody, M., Tyrrell, N., Song, S. (eds) The Changing Faces of Ireland. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-475-1_5
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