Gambian educational migration, care and the persistence of the domestic moral economy

• Published in: Children's geographies Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 642 - 653
• Main Author: Kea, Pamela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.11.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: care; Children & youth; domestic moral economy; Educational migration; Immigrant students; Moral economy; The Gambia; Transnationalism
• ISSN: 1473-3285; 1473-3277
• DOI: 10.1080/14733285.2020.1825623

This article examines Gambians' experiences of educational migration to the UK, social reproduction and care, as they organize and map out educational futures transnationally. They do so in order to be in a position to invest in their children's education, with the aim of consolidating and enhancing the family's accumulated wealth and resources across the generations. Access to social, economic and cultural resources can facilitate migration and affect the nature of educational decision-making. Similarly, grandparents may, through transnational care arrangements, look after children who are separated from their parents. Building on the literature, I highlight the way in which parents' educational and migratory trajectories are entangled with those of their children. It is argued that this entanglement reveals the persistence of the domestic moral economy, informed by intergenerational reciprocity and obligation towards kin. In addition, children's educational futures may be contingent on their parents' educational strategies and migratory trajectories.