Migrant Children, Schools and Language in the Global South

Much of the recent literature on migration in Africa has focused on the complex and coercive cosmopolitan strategies that emerge in newly-urbanised contexts with limited state infrastructure or integration strategies. Less attention has been paid to migrant children and their experiences and strategies of inclusion and exclusion. Focusing on South Africa, this presentation will show how the national compact achieved in 1994 created a set of language policies that, while inclusive of South African citizens, in practice exclude migrant children with different linguistic backgrounds. However, the resilience of migrant children in such contexts is also supported by research that demonstrates their achievement-orientation in poor contexts. This presentation will explore the multi-faceted educational and linguistic policies and practices related to migrant children in South Africa, developed at both official level and by migrant solidarity organisations.