Structure and AgencyTransnational and School Transitions of Ukrainian Forced Migrant Adolescents in Poland

The goal of the project is to study the transnational transitions, which include shifts from one social, cultural and educational context to another, experienced by Ukrainian forced migrant adolescents (FMA) in Poland (in two cities Warsaw and Lublin). We also aim to study the school transitions (the so-called middle-to-high-school transitions) of Ukrainian adolescents in times of forced migration. In particular, the project aims to investigate how young migrants (aged 13-17), who left Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of 2022, build new models of adaptation to social change during the critical period of academic and social transition from middle (which is upper primary school in Poland, grade 8) to high school during forced migration. We also seek to provide a holistic analysis of the role the structures (understood as institutions and practices, such as school, family, peer groups, etc.), agency and culture (SAC) play in transnational and school transitions of Ukrainian FMA in Poland. We are interested in how the transnational transitions shape and constrain adolescents’ agency within the changing social, cultural, economic and education structures in the times of adolescents’ development, i.e. on the one hand an increasing autonomy, and on the other hand, amplified uncertainty and temporality of life.

School (middle-to-high-school) transition is undeniably among the critical turning points in the lives of adolescents. Therefore, we adopt the Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) methods and employ the agency and structure theory under the critical realism (CR) paradigm to research middle-to-high-school transitions of forced migrant adolescents from Ukraine, living in Poland in times of political, economic, social, cultural and educational changes and challenges spread over the borders and across the time. We want to answer the following questions:

1. How do Ukrainian forced migrant children, living in Poland, experience middle-to-high-school transitions?
2. How do transnational transitions (social, cultural, educational, etc.) affect middle-to-high-school transitions of Ukrainian forced migrant adolescents?
3. What is the role of governmental and non-governmental organizations in middle-to-highschool transitions of Ukrainian FMA living in Poland?
4. How do structures and agency determine middle-to-high-school transitions of Ukrainian forced migrant adolescents in Poland?
5. How does adolescents’ agency shape the structures and culture across time and space?

We intend to presented the results of this project in the form of a Working Paper and at least five scientific articles (published in high-impact international journals). They will also be included in a student’s doctoral thesis.

The outcomes will also provide a foundation for the development of recommendations addressed to institutions responsible for education and socialization of forced migrant adolescents in Poland as well as recommendations for parents and practitioners, which will strengthen adolescents’ post-migration agentic actions and school transitions.

Finally, the outcomes will be presented at national and international conferences.