Skilled Gambian migrants: how embeddedness theory can explain their decision to stay abroad or leave

Authors

  • Amy Aidara University of the Gambia Serekunda, The Gambia

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to explore why skilled Gambians go abroad and why under similar circumstances some return while others do not. Methods: 41 skilled Gambians both in The Gambia and abroad were interviewed about their decisions to stay abroad or not. Nvivo software was used to test for associations between home/host country embeddedness and the decision to stay abroad or not. Results: Most skilled Gambians go abroad to pursue education or look for greener pastures, but they all have the financial ability to travel. However, their eventual return is associated with their degree of home/host country embeddedness. Those with the highest level of host country embeddedness tend to stay abroad while those with highest level of home embeddedness are more likely to return home. Conclusion: When considering strategies to counter skilled Gambian migration, the Gambian government must consider their degree of home/host country embeddedness to facilitate the eventual return of its skilled people.

Author Biography

Amy Aidara, University of the Gambia Serekunda, The Gambia


Downloads

Published

2020-02-28

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2020): Global Issues Conference 4 - Selected Papers

Section

Global Issues Conference Proceedings

License

The Global Partners in Education Journal (the “Publisher”) and the Author(s) agree as follows:

1. Author(s) hereby grant to Publisher all right, title, and interest in and to the Work, including copyright to all means of expression by any method now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format. If Publisher does not publish the Work within two (2) years of the Effective Date, copyright shall revert back to the Author. Publisher agrees to always credit Author(s) as the author(s) of the Work.

2. Publisher hereby grants Author a royalty-free, limited license for the following purposes, provided the Work is always identified as having first been published by Publisher.
    • The right to make and distribute copies of all or part of the Work for use in teaching;
    • The right to use all or part of the material contained in the Work in a book by the Author(s), or in a collection of the Author(s)’s work;
    • The right to use and distribute the Work internally at the Author(s)’s place of employment, and for promotion and any other non-commercial purposes;
    • The right to use figures and tables from the Work for any purpose;
    • The right to make presentations of material from the Work;
    • The right to use and distribute the Work on the Author(s)’s Web site and on the Author(s)’s university’s institute repository;
Such license shall be effective when the Work is first published in the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction.

3. The Author(s) represents and warrants that the Work: (a) is the Author(s)’s original work and that Author(s) has full power to enter into this agreement; (b) does not infringe the copyright or property right of another; (c) contains no materials which is obscene, libelous, defamatory or violates another’s civil right, right of privacy, or is otherwise unlawful; and (d) has not been previously published, in whole or in part. Author(s) shall indemnify and hold Publisher harmless against loss or expenses arising from breach of any such warranties.