Unity out of diversity?

Perspectives on the adaptations of immigrants in Britain.

The adaptation of immigrants (the immigrants' long-term integration into British society, and British society's response to it) has become an important topic of academic inquiry and debate among policymakers and the general public. Yet there is little systematic research or unified understanding of this process within and across these different areas.

In this project, we investigate the commonalities and differences in the various perceptions and understandings of adaptation and try to reconnect them.

We use an original research design that will examine:

1. the multidimensionality of immigrant adaptation in British academia (via a meta-analysis of the current literature and quantitative analysis of secondary data), which will be contrasted with the subjective understandings and perceptions of adaptation in Britain among
2. policymakers and third-sector stakeholders (via an analysis of policy documents and interviews); and
3. minority and majority groups among the British population (via focus groups and analysis of newspaper articles).

With this project we hope to provide a thorough and updated understanding of immigrant adaptation and its dimensionality in Britain, reaching beyond academic and policy circles, with the aim to build a solid evidence base for future research and policy.

Funder

• The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

Grant amount

£253,500

Manchester people

• Silvia Galandini