Research design

Secondary Data Analysis (WP 2)

The secondary data analysis will compile, assess and harmonise a stock of national quantitative cross-sectional and time-series datasets of the participating countries and for Europe, and should thus provide a comprehensive picture on the development of youth mobility, especially hindering and fostering factors. At the same time, the data on youth mobility and migration will be related to socio-economic data to analyse the positive and negative effects and the circumstances of youth mobility. Our aim is to explore how strong the relationships are between the phenomena describing social and economic conditions and the mobility in the case of the participating countries, and the impacts of youth mobility on economic development and labour markets.

Case studies (WP 3)

We understand as a case one specific type of mobility: higher education, cross-border voluntary work and employment mobility, geographical mobility for vocational training, pupils’ exchanges, and entrepreneurship mobility. The case studies focus on mobile young people.

These six types are considered as organisational fields that are shaped by actors and institutions, legal policies and specific rationalities and logics. They are integrated in a country-related and a European context, which makes it possible to identify two contrastive units of analysis. The assignment of each of the countries to two cases is based on a thorough literature review that gives some kind of plausibility to assume that the cases are contrasting from what we know now. The results of the MOVE-survey and the secondary data analysis might question this systematic and bring some light into different aspects.

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Each country specific part of a case study includes the following types of data and methods:

1. Description of the organisational field in relation to the local and the European context, including the description of organisations focusing on mobility, social services providing information, counselling, services for preparation and reintegration if longer periods abroad are concerned. Through this approach the findings of each type of mobility will be in the beginning embedded in a legal and cultural context that is framed by the nation state. This will lay the foundation for generalising mobility practises at the final stage of the research project when the results from each country will be confronted with another country-specific context.
2. In each country 15-20 qualitative interviews will be conducted with young people (aged 18-29). For each type of mobility there will thus be 30-40 interviews. The first stage sampling will be balanced in terms of gender trying to take also into consideration different socio-economic backgrounds, and impairments. Since the aim is to make comparisons and contrasts with other interviews, interview guides regarding the sub-categories will be developed: All interviews will focus on the following issues:
   • How is the crossborder movement located within the life course? What are the aims, expectancies, etc.?
   • How is the movement framed?
   • What kind of support and obstacles are identified by the young people?
   • How do young people judge the learning process of going abroad?
   • Which strategies do they explain to achieve agency, what is hindering and fostering?
   • How do young people build up (transnational) relationships with their home and destination countries and which role do social networks play for different forms of mobility?
   • How does their mobility experience affect their identity building process (as European citizens)?
   • What is their perspective on future plans regarding their place of residence, plans for studying and work, family plans?
   • Which situation do they face in the countries of origin and which in the destination countries?
   • What is their socio-economic background?
   • How does gender becomes relevant in the processes of achieving agency?
   • How does personal impairment or disability play a role for young mobile people?
   • How are virtual mobility and transnational movements embedded in different forms of mobility?
   • Do the young people send money to their countries of origin or to other family members around the world?
   • Do they invest in their countries of origin?
   • Are they planning to build or actually are building up a business in their countries of origin or in the countries abroad? What are fostering and hindering factors to do so?

Three to five expert interviews (employers, representatives of organisations framing one type of mobility, representatives of the administrations who are responsible for recognising credentials and certificates and chamber representatives) will bring some light into the question of how different forms of mobility are evaluated by experts in the field of youth mobility and employment. What do these experts identify as supportive and hindering factors, e.g. on the level of legal frameworks and the recognition of credentials, but also on the level of team dynamics etc.? And how do they evaluate young people’s mobility experience?

Online Survey (WP 4)

The main objective of the survey is to obtain quantitative data about European young people’s experiences and perceptions on mobility and to compare the analysed countries in the EU to identify general patterns, taking into consideration different dimensions of social inequality such as gender, level of education and socio-economic background, and impairments. To reach this overall objective we will need to

1. find out about the role and value of information and support services for young people and their decision-making process to go abroad
2. explore the role of transnational networks for support and as potential ‘pull factors’ for mobility
3. examine the feeling of agency comparing young people with mobility experience and without
4. study the formation of social capital of young mobile people and the effects on future perspectives and the reproduction of social inequality
5. investigate the formation of identity by those mobile young people compared to non-mobiles.
6. examine the career-plans of young people and the binding to remain committed to the home country (e.g. sending of money, supporting the family…)
7. get insights into the (re-)production of social inequality concerning mobility and immobility looking at the different dimension of inequality

On the basis of the first insights from the case studies and the secondary data analysis, and previous research, an online survey (N=5,499 panel + n = 3,207 snowball) will be conducted among mobile and non-mobile young people (18-29) to explore their mind-sets, experiences and motivations regarding mobility as well as about the barriers, fears or reasons that hold non-mobile young participants in their countries.

Referring to previous research, the role of information and support services but also the impact of social networks of migrants, both real and virtual (ICT), will be further topics of the survey, as peer networks can lead to further transnational activities and identities.