Expats in Zürich

Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier Expats in Zürich A qualitative study of expats´ reasons and choices regarding integration, education and social grounds Kristina Andersson C-uppsats i utbildningssociologi Abstract This study examines expats and their families in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Their reasons and choices regarding integrating (or not) into the Swiss society, educational strategies for their children and possessed capital assets upon arrival in Switzerland is the three problem statements being explored. Pierre Bourdieu’s´ sociology is the theoretical framework for this study – the concept of different types of capital and educational strategies are especially important in this regard. Interviews with female expats whose children attend the Inter-Community School Zürich (ICSZ) were conducted and the stated purpose of the study was obtained. This study concludes that these expat families choose the international grounds rather than the local, due to language barriers. The language makes it hard for both themselves and their children to integrate and/or feel part of the Swiss community and society. The expats are integrated into the international éxpat-bubble´ rather than the Swiss society or community, and the reason is due to the lack of time spent with the local people, not mastering the language and/or not being interested enough to make the effort to integrate. This specific group of expats can be seen as an ínternational elite- group´, based on their assets of capital, their cosmopolitan lifestyle and international social grounds. These expats value their capitals highly but is not stating that one specific capital is more needed than another; all their assets are of worth and they do not consciously use a specific capital for their integration. Handledare: Anna Bennich Björkman Examinator: Håkan Forsberg 2 Contents Introduction _________________________________________________ 5 Background ____________________________________________________ 6 What is an expat? ____________________________________________ 6 Zurich, Switzerland __________________________________________ 7 The Swiss Education System ____________________________________ 8 Purpose and problem statements _____________________________________ 9 Theoretical framework ___________________________________________ 10 The concepts ______________________________________________ 10 The use of capitals from an expat´ point of view ______________________ 11 Educational strategies _______________________________________ 11 Previous research _______________________________________________ 12 Cosmopolites _____________________________________________ 12 The international school ______________________________________ 13 Method used __________________________________________________ 14 The interviews _____________________________________________ 15 Empirical findings ____________________________________________ 16 The interviewees ___________________________________________ 16 Hello Switzerland! __________________________________________ 16 International or local school? ___________________________________ 18 Cultural and economic capital __________________________________ 19 To integrate or not __________________________________________ 23 Discussion __________________________________________________ 25 Conclusion _________________________________________________ 26 Bibliography ________________________________________________ 29 Appendix ___________________________________________________ 30 Table 1. ______________________________________________________ 30 Interview guide ________________________________________________ 31 Introductory questions ___________________________________ 31 To live and socialize in Zurich ______________________________ 31 School/education ______________________________________ 31 Life in the longer terms __________________________________ 32 Closing questions ______________________________________ 32 3 Introduction Our world and the society we live in is constantly changing and individuals are striving for new lifestyles and goals – not only in their native country but also across international borders. In this modern era, it is common to choose to work or study in another country, both for young professionals and older and more experienced people. A lot of people are ordered by their employer to move due to work related reasons and this phenomenon and lifestyle is referred to as expats, originally from the word expatriate1. For the families crossing international borders economic capital, education and language are important assets to possess, along with an open mind. Integrating into a new culture is not easy nor hard, it is up to each and every family to decide how much effort they want to set aside to become part of a new culture. Some people find it very important to belong, while others are happy and content socializing on the international ground or with other expats from the same country as themselves. This study is focused on expats living in Switzerland and how this group reasons regarding integrating or not into the Swiss society and community. The expat families´ school- and educational choices are examined, as well as their reasons for choosing an international contact- and social net over the local one. What choices do expats make and how does it reflect on their assets in form of different capitals? The purpose of the study is to answer the question of how these specific expat families reason when choosing the international over the local ground, and how the families decide to integrate or not, in the Swiss society and community. Expats is a group whom, normally, possess strong economic and cultural capitals, which diverse them from immigrants. An interesting contribution of the study is to examine how an elite segment like expats, with an abundance of capital, reason when it comes to integrating or not. Due to the globalization on the work market and with individuals traveling the world in a more nuanced way than a few decades ago, expats have risen as a group, and is of high interest to investigate due to their international lifestyle. Another aspect of the study is to examine the expats reasons and educational choices for their children. What are their main reasons for, and what attributes do they see as most important, when it comes to choosing a school for their children? Is the international school the more likely choice, and why? In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, interviews have been conducted with 12 women from different countries, in the age between 37- 51, who are all expats and live in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland with their families. The common denominator, besides them all being expats, is their children, who all attend or have attended the Inter-Community School in Zürich. 1 Definition of EXPAT – an abbreviation of the word expatriate, which means á person who does not live in their own homeland´ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/expatriate. Cambridge lexicon 2019. Accessed May 21, 2019. 5 Background To be able to understand the purpose and main questions of the study, a background is to be presented, stating important and relevant aspects for the study. The term expats are to be examined, and different types of the term – such as assigned or self-initiated- / family- or young professional - expats. The Swiss education system will be presented and reviewed with focus on the educational premises for the canton of Zürich. What is an expat? To understand the term expat, it is important to be able to distinguish it from the more familiar term immigrant. The word expat is an abbreviation of the word expatriate, which is a combination of two different Latin terms. Ex means óutside´ and patria ´motherland´ and the definition according to Cambridge's lexicon reads: "a person who does not live in their own homeland". An expat is someone who has been transferred to another country by their employer and chooses to move with their entire family, or someone who seeks employment in a new country without having been asked to move – they do it because they can and want to. The goal of an expat is to return to their home country (or the country they feel most at home or attached to) or to keep on moving around to different countries when new opportunities arise. By contrast, an immigrant usually immigrates to a new country because of war and / or poverty in their home country and is forced to flee to survive; and the choice to return to their country they once left at a later stage of life does not exist. Even though immigrants have a good chance of building a new life for themselves and their families, with the help from the government in the new country, an immigrant does not have the same options when it comes to work, education, or lifestyle as an expat has. An expat typically makes a conscious choice to leave their home country for a new life in a foreign country with significantly greater economic capital than an immigrant. Emanuele Gatti (2009) describes that expats represent the positive side of immigration - the more highly educated and wealthy side - while the more ´traditional´ immigrants are considered to be poorly educated, stereotypically seen as violent and not at all integrated into the society (2009: 8). An expat´s education and professional skills are directly received and recognized in the new country and the individuals can continue to build a career in the new country without any problem. Many expats families choose to enrol

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