School and new mobilities

A device to promote the recognition of children and families of asylum seekers in Western Switzerland

Abstract

Schools today welcome pupils from new, more mobile and unstable migratory backgrounds who question the model of school integration. The lack of knowledge of the trajectories of these children, with chaotic or absent schooling, and the incessant displacements, do not allow teachers to inscribe their practice in continuity. This article presents a study involving native language assessments of the skills and needs of asylum seekers’ children and documents different aspects of their experience. The issue of teachers’ training and of opening up schools to migrant pupils from “new mobilities” background will be discussed in the light of the recognition approach.