Migration journeys and unequal access to mobility

In this module students learn that migration journeys can be brief and linear but also long and fragmented into multiple stages. Students get to analyse migration journeys as processes that are influenced by people’s aspirations and capabilities (such as income, social connections and education), which give unequal access to mobility. By working with maps, storytelling and analytical worksheets, students learn that aspirations and capabilities shape migration. Through this lens, students gain insights into why some migrants undertake risky routes to reach their preferred destinations.

What your students will learn

General learning outcome

Understand migration journeys as complex processes that unfold over time and space and are influenced by migration aspirations and capabilities

Specific learning outcomes

Discover the many variations of migration journeys over space and time

Understand the concepts of migration aspirations and capabilities and how they shape migration journeys

Reflect on how aspirations and capabilities lead to unequal access to migration and may influence migrants to choose risky irregular journeys

Class structure and timeline

Development in class

Activity 1: What are migration journeys?

Activity 2: Role-playing game: the stories of three young Senegalese migrants

Activity 3: Comparing journeys speed date

Homework

45 minutes

What might be your own migration journey?

Download module documents

Teacher resources    •    Student materials

Module documents

Complementary modules

• Displacement and asylum
• Migration trends: A bird’s eye view
• Migration policies
• Why do people migrate? Migration drivers and mechanisms