Today’s experiences and anticipated futures among young in multiethnic Portugal

Sandra Mateus, Centre for Research and Studies on Sociology (CIES/ISCTE)

The communication will focus in young from immigrant families in Portugal, their processes of integration in the educational and professional fields, based on their experiences and their future aspirations, considering that those fields are privileged for the discussion of the objective and subjective conditions of integration, participation and citizenship exercise in the Portuguese society. First, we will examine the sociological knowledge already produced in Portugal concerning this population segment, bringing into focus the presence and permanence in the Portuguese educational system, and the integration at the labour market. Second, we will present the research in progress, discussing the ways in which, in the compulsory schooling conclusion context, and transition for higher education or for work – ethnic, social and cultural belonging, as much as the subjective experiences,– intersect and contribute for the definition of school and career choices, giving place to individual destinies and broader social configurations of young immigrants.