A Dissertation Synopsis.

How do non-urban settings create challenges for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) using the case study of South West England?

What are the key issues being addressed?

Non-urban communities in the United Kingdom (UK) are often portrayed as the rural idyll (Mingay, 1989 Bunce, 1994 Yarwood, 2005). Yet, research has shown that they face a variety of unique challenges that include social and economic barriers to prosperity (Cloke,2014). These challenges may appear more overtly to UASC who are resettled within these non-urban communities having experienced traumatic circumstances before arrival. This dissertation addresses a range of issues faced by UASC in rural communities. The study does this through a thorough analysis of the experience of UASC within rural areas. Through investigating UASC experiences it forces a centralisation of the young person within the research analysis. Consequently, this enables a better understanding of the issue through their perspective (Austin Sutton,2014:436). The research questions are as follows:

1) How does rurality create challenges for UASC?

2) Does rurality exacerbate existing challenges faced by UASC?

3) To what extent have local authority interventions mitigated rural challenges for UASC?

What is the rationale for the research?

The rationale for the research is clear. Firstly, wider academic interest in UASC has grown throughout Europe over the past decade (Diop 2009 Chase Allsopp 2013 S derqvist et al 2014). This is partially due to the increased visibility of these vulnerable UASC who are not having their needs met (UNHCR,2016:1). The needs of UASC are heterogeneous. They are based on the child s unique experiences pre, during and post-travel (Hek,2006:2). Fundamentally, the requirement to meet the social, emotional and cultural needs of the UASC is underpinned in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Save the Children,2020). Article 6 states that the child has the right to develop healthily. This can be seen as healthy emotional development and one may argue that to live without the necessary social or cultural stimuli, a child may not develop healthily. The isolated nature of rural Britain may restrict access to religious sites or UASC social networks and may therefore, limit access to areas of society that satisfy UASC social, cultural and economic needs. Article 3 further states that the best interests of the child must be paramount, and this is the key to why this research is important. In order to gain a clear understanding of what is in the best interests of the UASC, the experience of the UASC in non-urban areas must be investigated. Their experience in rural settlements has not been well documented within the literature as urban areas are used to resettle UASC more frequently (Doggett,2012).

UASC being relocated in rural communities has become more common as a result of the 2016 National Transfer Scheme Protocol for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (Department for Education,2018:2). This was introduced to try and disperse UASC further afield than the dominant areas of Greater London and Kent (Devon County Council,2018:2). Therefore, this national policy has pushed UASC into the rural space and consequently owe a responsibility to establish best practices in these rural spaces. This dissertation argues that this process was enacted with an inadequate focus on the UASC and more impetus on diffusing rising pressures on the South East of England.

Despite rural areas not meeting the needs of many, rural spaces continue to be described as morally and aesthetically superior than urban areas (Somerville,2015:3). The rural idyll views rurality as a culturally homogenous community, characterised by a nostalgic yearning for a green utopia (Shucksmith,2018:163). The rural idyll has, however, been critiqued as an outdated, inaccurate portrayal of non-urban society (Cloke,2003 Bell,2006). In contrast to an idyllic scene, rurality is often now synonymous with poor transport, failing services and the elderly (Ibid). This dissertation furthers the critique of the rural idyll through investigating the challenges that arise between UASC and rurality.

Literature review

UASC are defined as young people who are under 18 who are seeking asylum in the UK but are not with their parents (Gov,2019). These young people have been recognised as a significantly vulnerable demographic (Doggett,2012:5). Alongside mental and physical hardship before and during the migration, post-flight risks for UASC could also include a difficulty in adjusting to new societies, facing hostility from local populations and having a restriction in personal freedoms (Bean et al.2007 Hopkins Hill,2010). Once the child has arrived in the UK, they have their rights protected by the `Convention of the Rights of the Child` which the UK has ratified (Humphris,2017:312). This means that the UASC has a right to seek asylum within the UK. A part of this process includes UASC taking part in an age assessment to determine the child s age before resettlement. One could question this is as an insensitive, intrusive activity as the child may have experienced previous assessments. Conversely, it could be seen as necessary to ensure false claims of childhood are prevented. If the age assessment suggests the UASC is a child, Save the children (2008) state that local authorities do, when beneficial for the UASC, attempt to place the child into an area with a greater depth of cultural and social resources. This would often be an urban area with a variety of religious sites and larger concentrations of ethnic minorities. More recently, Humphris (2017:312) explains that UASC have been relocated to a wider range of areas in the UK, including rural areas. Humphris argues that this burden-sharing is the result of austerity measures placed on local authorities by the central government. The argument follows that this is part of a wider marketisation of the asylum process, despite the government claiming austerity has finished as of September 2019 (Jordan,2019).

The challenges resettling UASC in rural areas has limited documentation within academic research (Doggett,2012:210). The difficulties are mainly illustrated through education reports. Support for students with English as a second language (EAL) is often inconsistent in rural areas due to the lower prevalence of existing EAL children (DfES,2004). Recent reports (UNICEF,2018:3) have shown that no region in the UK has met the target of 20 school days to access education for UASC due to a lack of spaces and specialist language provision. These language barriers immediately create a hurdle for the UASC in education as well as socially. This difficulty in communication could contribute to the othering of the UASC (Khan,2012:54). Additionally, Degler and Liebig (2017) argue that refugees in rural areas may experience a lack of access to public transport, which may be needed in order to access language lessons in urban areas where the language facilities are. This then suggests that traditional rural challenges such as poor public transport can prevent the wider rural refugee community from progressing and gaining language skills. With that being said, there is a limited amount of research that explains UASC specific needs within education (Ott, et al,2019:556). It could then be questioned whether UASC may learn best in environments that are different from traditional Western education settings. Homogeneity within the classroom may not suit UASC from Afghanistan as it would a child from Sudan as they have diverse individual needs. Therefore, more research is needed to establish accessible, effective curriculum content and classroom settings for UASC.

Notwithstanding the challenges posed by UASC resettlement, it is crucial to recognise the existing challenges facing rural communities, specifically in Devon. Devon has 422 parishes, of which 97% have populations of under 10,000 (Devon County Council,2013:2). Williams (2016:3) argues that rural locations can be defined as settlements with under 10,000 people, therefore suggesting widespread rurality throughout Devon. Researchers (Pinocely et al, 2016:11) have shown that rural areas have a range of challenges that are often overlooked in research such as poverty and poor services. This oversight is despite Cloke (2014:722) arguing of a cultural turn in rural geography academia, which would focus on the hidden others . Within the hidden others are UASC, who have a small amount of research on their presence in non-urban environments (Doggett,2012). One could question whether their small presence in the overall demographics means that UASC are measured in their own right or if they are analysed as wider ethnic minorities in research. This lack of transparent research underpins the dissertations importance. It is, therefore, important to make the research accurate and specific to rural areas in order to maximise its impact. Accuracy can be ensured through an effective methodology.

Methodology

The techniques that the study uses are primary, qualitative research methods to gain context-specific data. The dissertation will use semi-structured interviews to explore the experience of three UASC who live in rural locations in East Devon. This interpretivist approach allows for flexibility to gain detailed data as the interviewer can follow certain points of interest that are raised (Gill,2008:294). In order to choose the rural-based UASC, the study uses purposive sampling to ensure the specific characteristics required are met (Bryman,2012). Coding will then be used in order to establish themes within the interviews which will be presented in the findings section (Elliot,2018:2850).

Secondary data will also be analysed in order to gain information on the current and historical distribution of UASC in the UK. The historic reports will look at the Kindertransport and Wijsmuller-Meiker resettlement during world war two as well as more recent UASC such as those from the Balkan states in the 1990s. In an attempt to decrease any bias within the reports, the triangulation of data is used in order to ensure the reliability of information and that it is not a mere methodological artefact (Bouchard,1979:268).

A range of ethical issues will arise from conducting research with UASC. Firstly, the individual is under eighteen years old and this creates the challenge of consent, as the nature of being a UASC means you are not initially accompanied by an adult. Previous studies have shown that investigations into UASC require both young person and carer to consent to recognise ethical approval (Thomas,2004:113). Therefore, permission will be granted, in writing, before discussion with the UASC by both parties. Furthermore, the interviewees will all be told they are able to withdraw at any time in the research. This will prevent the UASC from risking their wellbeing through exploring any uncomfortable topics and could add a level of reassurance for them. Moreover, the interviewer will have completed an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service form in order to safeguard the UASC during the interview. When the information is collected the real name of each UASC will not be used in order to maintain anonymity.

Outline

The following section shows a preliminary structure for the dissertation:

The study begins with an Abstract to summarise the research, followed by a Contents page in order to make the content navigable.

The Introduction looks at the importance of studying UASC experiences in rural areas and more broadly why the topic has been chosen. The section then clearly lays out the research questions alongside the argument that the dissertation makes as well as its structure.

A Literature Review then critically investigates a range of literature that is pertinent to the overarching topic. The following subsections will be used as a guide for the literature review and are subject to change during the dissertation:

2.1) UASC Contemporary experience.
2.1.1) What makes a UASC?
2.1.2) Theories of Migration
2.1.3) Current UASC experience.
2.1.4) Successful resettlement.
2.2) UASC History.
2.2.1) UK legislative history.
2.2.2) UK resettlement history.
2.2.3) Kindertransport.
2.2.4) Wijsmuller-Meiker.
2.3) Rurality.
2.3.1) Theories of Rurality.
2.3.2) Rurality and austerity.
2.3.3) Challenges of Rurality.
2.3.4) UASC and the Rural.
2.4) Conclusion.

The next section is the Methodology which explains the structure and stance of the research. It discusses reasoning for epistemological choices as well as how data analysis will be completed.

Following this is the Findings section where the outcomes of the interviews are presented. Next, the Discussion segment critically analyses the findings with the existing literature and provides a thorough analysis of the UASC experience in non-urban communities.

Lastly, a Conclusion will summarise the key findings from the research as well as illustrating any limitations of the study. Consequently, the conclusion is then able to argue where the research should next be focused.