Tia's acculturation :a case study exploring perceptions and experiences of one child's migration from Eastern Europe to the United Kingdom

Abstract

Acculturation explores the consideration an individual places on a new cultural identity and the amount of involvement they wish to have within their new society (Berry, 1980; Padilla & Perez, 2003). Since the introduction of free movement of workers within the European Union, numbers of Eastern European migrant families moving to the United Kingdom has risen (Equality & Human Rights Commission, 2009). This research examines the experience of Tia whose family voluntarily migrated from Eastern Europe to the United Kingdom in 2008. The literature search revealed examples of studies exploring how experiencing migration may affect children of forced migrants i.e. asylum seekers or refugees. Very little research was evident on the experience of migration and acculturation on children from voluntary migrant families. The purpose of this research is to explore the features that contribute to the development of Tia’s acculturation. The research is based upon a constructivist paradigm and as such acknowledges that reality is socially constructed by those individuals who are involved in the research (Schwandt, 2000). Data collected from semi-structured interviews with Tia, her parents and head teacher considered their perceptions, points of view and experiences in relation to Tia’s acculturation through the application of constructivist grounded theory. The findings of this study illustrated how interconnecting factors (hope, belonging, respect, values) and key influences (education, identity, family relationships, peer relationships, friendships) collectively shaped Tia’s acculturation. iv Based upon these findings the study concludes that further research is needed to look at how we can best support the development of a migrant child’s acculturation into a new society. One aspect of this may be to further consider the psychological impact that acculturation may have on a child’s social and emotional well being, developing identity and academic achievement. It is suggested that the Educational Psychologist may be well placed to develop this research and to offer support to schools and families.