Children of immigrants and their successful careers within Swiss cities and in international comparison
In this project, we focus the educational and professional careers of Turkish and former Yugoslavian second generation descendents in the cities of Basle, Zurich and Geneva. Our aim is to identify main factors - e.g. personal, social but also institutional - influencing educational trajectories as well as professional careers and professional success in different areas of the labour market.
In a first step, the project looks at quantitative data gathered in the research project “The integration of the European Second Generation” (TIES). The main part of the study consists of hundred qualitative in-depth interviews with people of Turkish and former Yugoslavian origin as well as a comparison group of native, who are working in different professional sectors (business, law, teaching, public administration). Local case studies and contextual analyses of the selected cities and metropolitan areas will accompany the qualitative fieldwork. A particular focus in the analyses of the empirical data will be put on the potential influence of urban contexts on successful careers of people of immigrant and low socio-economic background. Additionally, the Swiss data will be compared with the data collected in the other European countries – in particular with results from Germany and Austria.
Project team: Rosita Fibbi (project leader) and Philipp Schnell
Duration: 2013-2015
The research project “Pathways to Success” of the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies (SFM) at the University of Neuchâtel, is funded by the Stiftung Mercator Schweiz.