Study on children and racism
As concern grows that the economic downturn may prompt a shift in attitudes towards migrants and an increase in racism, the institute’s Centre for Social and Family Research has won research contracts worth €250,000 to study Polish migrants in Ireland and the effect of modern lifestyles on migrant children.
With more than 10% of today’s population born outside the country, the research is aimed at finding out how migrants are coping with their experiences, and how families are dealing with the constant changes.
Researchers at WIT have been to the forefront of studying the changing nature of Irish families, according to Centre co-ordinator Fergus Hogan.
“This research investment, from a number of national sources, is significant recognition of both the importance of better understanding children’s lives in a changing Ireland and also the calibre of the social science research at WIT.”
One of the research projects, Motherhood and Social Integration: the case of Polish migrants in Ireland highlights that 60% of all EU workers in Ireland are from Poland and 33% of these are women.
According to researcher Jonathan Culleton: “While migration has been spoken about a lot, mothers and ethnic minorities are still neglected areas. This project will explore Polish women’s experiences of moving to Ireland and the impact of having children here.”
Meanwhile, Changing Irish Childhoods will explore experiences of family life in modern Ireland, says research supervisor Jacinta Byrne, “where families are influenced by the changing nature of work”.
