Hildur Blöndal, doctoral student in multicultural studies
"Icelanders who have lived abroad and students with an immigrant background appear to have something that I call a global consciousness," says Hildur Blöndal, a doctoral student in multicultural studies. "With my doctoral research I want to explore how individuals with experience of global mobility make use of that experience and what lessons we can learn from it. It is about time we had a look at the positive sides of migration, since the negative sides have already been given a lot of attention," she says.
Hildur Blöndal
"The research is also intended to broaden the basis for discourse on cultural diversity and its value, not least in light of the fact that migration has wide-reaching social significance both for those who migrate and those who stay in their countries of birth."
The research participants are students at upper secondary schools and universities. The group includes Icelandic students who have lived abroad and students with an immigrant background. "The inspiration for the research can be traced back to my own experiences living abroad, both as a child and an adult and as the parent of a child with the same experience. I want to better understand what it is in the process itself of migrating between countries that influences individuals, their skills and outlook on life. I also considered ideas about what skills are important for students in the 21st century to enable them to actively participate in a global democratic society," Hildur explains.
According to Hildur, the value of the research lies in the fact that it focuses on two groups as parts of a whole instead of separating them as has been done in previous research. "The research is also intended to broaden the basis for discourse on cultural diversity and its value, not least in light of the fact that migration has wide-reaching social significance both for those who migrate and those who stay in their countries of birth," says Hildur.
Supervisors: Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Education Studies, and Audrey Osler, guest professor from Högskolen í Buskerud University College and the University of Leeds.