Educational trajectories of internal migrant students: approaches to the school uses of remittances

Abstract

The central objective of this research was to identify the uses that families give to international remittances for school and educational purposes. Therefore, this article analyzed the educational trajectories of a group of young university students from some of the rural areas of the state of Veracruz, who have a migratory family history in illegal status to sustain their school journeys. The study refers to a broad process in which international family migrations are connected in the Mexico-United States of America corridor, along with internal migratory movements for higher education. Through the analysis of a group of internal migrant students from the Universidad Veracruzana who have moved to the city of Xalapa to carry out their university studies, both migrations are connected. With a qualitative approach and the use of semi-structured interviews, it was identified that family projects towards higher education conceive of economic and sociocultural remittances as resources that take the place of schooling referents within families. Thus, the complementarity of international and internal migrations, and the strategic use of remittances within families were how young people accessed university higher education. This articulation was possible through an intergenerational migratory culture.