Understanding Migrants’ Experiences of Social Exclusion and Inclusion: the Case of Bulgarian Immigrants in Greece
Understanding Migrants’ Experiences of Social Exclusion and Inclusion: the Case of Bulgarian Immigrants in Greece

Summary/Abstract: The present paper refers to sociological issues, namely the experiences of social exclusion and inclusion of second-generation immigrants from Bulgaria. More specifically, the paper presents the immigrants’ experiences that have been “produced” within the school environment and Greek society in general. The theoretical framework of the study approaches second-generation immigrants as social subjects whose experiences of social reality are mediated by the relationship of the parameters of ethnicity, class and gender. The paper presents the findings of a qualitative study of second-generation Bulgarian students in Athens. The research project was conducted by the Research Centre for Greek Society of the Academy of Athens between 2006 and 2007 and focussed on the relationship of the second-generation Balkan immigrants to education. The study is based on the empirical material of semi-structured interviews with immigrant pupils who attend upper secondary education. It is argued that their relationship to education is significantly determined by their parents’ cultural capital which, in its turn, refers to different social strata. The paper concludes that the cultural can be more fully understood through its relationship to class and gender, as it is shaped by them.

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