Paper short abstract:

Drawing from Vigh's (2009) concept of 'social navigation' and ethnographic fieldwork in Thessaloniki, Greece, this paper explores the role of motherhood (as both child and parent) in young female refugees' educational goals, imagined futures and agency in an uncertain context.

Paper long abstract:

Contrary to popular media tropes of the 'young, lone, male refugee' arriving at Europe's borders, Greece has in fact seen a steady flow of female refugees arriving since 2015. Most come in family groups, and many - including teenage girls - are mothers. A common aspiration among mothers and female youth is the continuation of schooling; however, enrolment rates among teenagers are low, and drop-out rates are high. While access to education has increased since 2016, currently only half of all secondary-age refugee girls enrol in high school, and of this number, only half attend for longer than one month. However, many engage in alternatives which may better fit their life projects and family responsibilities (as both child and mother).

This paper explores how motherhood is implicated in this educational decision-making and its wider role in imagining and constructing pathways towards their futures. It is based on findings of a DPhil project which explores how young refugees - many of whom have arrived in Greece by crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey - now find themselves in an uncertain, precarious 'seascape' which they are forced to navigate, amidst a plethora of competing social forces. The paper thus draws from Vigh's (2009) concept of 'social navigation' and ethnographic fieldwork in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece to address the influence of motherhood on (achieving) educational goals, while also making the case for including the 'spatial' in educational research; or how (young) refugee women carve out their own educational spaces in the city as an important expression of agency.