Mobile Brains and The Question of 'Deskilling

High-skilled South Asian migrants in Denmark

Bibliographic Data

ID2606899
AuthorsAshika Niraula (0009-0000-7631-6093), Karen Valentin (0000-0003-0585-4542, Aarhus University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume9
Issue1
Pages19-35
Publication date2019-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNordic Journal of Migration Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1799-649X • E-ISSN: 1799-649X
PublisherHelsinki University Press (PUBLISHER • FI)
DOI10.2478/njmr-2019-0008
OpenAlexW2925745803
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited14

Based on two ethnographic studies on the experiences of high-skilled migrants in Denmark, we argue that it is problematic to presume a simple correlation between 'deskilling' and what is often regarded as low-status jobs. We claim that many of these migrants are, albeit discreetly, actively gaining new skills and knowledge through low-status jobs not related to their qualifications and/or utilising their existing knowledge and skills in their everyday lives. We approach skills as a social construct that differs according to context and under particular historical circumstances, not merely as a neutral, measurable and easily transferable human capital. The article offers critical analysis of simultaneous processes of skilling- deskilling-reskilling-upskilling linked to migration and generates new insights into debates on highly educated migrants in a Nordic context

Deskilling · Ethnography · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Engineering · Gender Studies · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Governance and Development · History · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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