Literature Review: Migration Impact on Australian Early Childhood

This literature review critically examines the impact of migration on children, families, and early childhood communities within the Australian context. It explores the sociocultural issues arising from migration, including language barriers, trauma, social cohesion, and the roles of race and gender. The review identifies key areas of agreement, disagreement, and tension in existing literature, highlighting how these themes contribute to the current understanding of early childhood practices in Australia. It also addresses the vulnerabilities faced by temporary migrants and acknowledges a gap in research concerning the mental health of children affected by migration. The review concludes by emphasizing the significance of understanding migration's impact and formulating strategies to support children, women, and families in Australia.

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Literature Review
Introduction
Several migrants come to Australia in the form of secondary family applicants either to
be reunited with their respective families or because of matrimonial reasons. The migration
process by various family members has its occurrence across several layers of visa categories.
The dependent children as well as partners of the visa holders who engage in the skilled,
business, family and humanitarian sectors are permitted to migrate with them as secondary or
accompanying migrants (Halliday et al., 2014). Despite the fact that the selection of chief
migrants is performed focusing on the areas where they can offer their contribution to Australia,
several secondary migrants possess the skills and expertise to improve the economic growth of
the nation. However, the direct influence on the ones who are experiencing the process of
migration is profound and intense. The fact cannot be denied that children are regarded as
excessively vulnerable towards the impact of migration. There must be an increased level of
awareness and acknowledgement of the worth of early childhood development and well as other
family members in order to identify and comprehend the major areas of issues and concern
raging with the process of migration in Australia.
Exploration to the Concept of Migration:
Australia has been a nation of immigration since the period of colonization. However,
over the past few centuries, the new settlers have experienced severe rate of hostility and
aggression originating from the British settlers in order to preserve the country as British as well
as white (Adair, 2015). Australia has been largely experiencing large-scale immigration as well

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as ethnic diversity. However, the domain of social sciences has played a significant role in
establishing as well as defining various aspects of the immigration procedure. It further
facilitated in enhancing the awareness on public judgment and growth of policy development.
The development of population particularly the concept of immigration has been a predominant
area of public dispute in the country (Tyrer & Fazel, 2014). There are various ways of explaining
and evaluating the process of migration. The net overseas migration rate has been regarded as a
vital concept to understand the growth of population along with its other factors.
Global migration has its contribution to the post war development in population.
Immigrants who have settled in the country have manipulated patterns of life in Australia along
with its economic, social, traditional as well as environmental effects. It must also be noted that
several patterns of immigrant settlements have continued to remain a ignored and abandoned
factor of the Australian international migration as well as its settlement policy and investigation.
Over a million of temporary migrants reside in several parts of Australia at present which
incorporates several international students, talented and skilled migrants, New Zealanders as
well as refugees on provisional and temporary protection visas (Fozdar & Hartley, 2013).
However, the influx of excess rate of migrant population as marked a drastic change belonging to
the permanent colonizer model that exemplified the Australian migration during the 20th century.
This migration has expelled several challenges and areas of concern for Australia have to be a
democracy dedicated to a system of citizenship-based multiculturalism.

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Different Consequences of Migration on Children, families and early childhood
Language and Communication
Australia has always comprised of a unique history, which acted as significant
elements such as the indigenous population, a British colonial past along with an influx of
immigration people originating from various countries and traditions.This extensive immigration
has resulted the country to be one of the most diverse population across the world. Establishing
settlements in an unknown country can creates certain levels of complication (Verdon, McLeod
& Winsler, 2014). In such a case, language can be regarded as one of the significant barriers for
children and families who are new to the country. Various forms of difficulties and complexities
give rise while communicating in English can further create many challenges for the families
who seek to find a new habitat for themselves. However, this kind of language hindrance can
further undermine the confidence of the individuals, which make their daily lives difficult and
establish social barriers (Goodall, Newman & Ward, 2014). Linguistics divergence can further
create obstacles while communicating with the Early Childhood Education and Care for both the
parents and carers. Lack of recognition and understanding of experiences, language and beliefs
can lead to increased level of miscommunication and misinterpretation.
Effects of trauma
Certain aspects of stressful experiences that can further result in additional challenges can
impel the process of migration. Factors related to traumatic and distressing experiences can take
place through being vulnerable to violence and atrocities. Children and families of the migrants
may have experienced high level of fear and threat or have faced any kind of hardships while
migrating to Australia (Fozdar & Hartley, 2013). A majority section of immigrants has received

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insensitive treatment during the process of immigration detention while settling in the country.
However, such incidents are regarded as excessively stressful and traumatic and have adverse
influence on children and the families. Some children face increased rate of fear and stress
especially when they are uprooted from familiar environment. Children further experience
extreme level of inconvenience while communicating and relying on other people in foreign
lands (Newman, Proctor & Dudley, 2013). Certain level of pain and resentment can be
identified in the characteristics of children when they are being displaced from their known
habitat that furthers can be witnessed in the changing behavioural patterns of young adults and
children. Children and teenagers gradually show traumatised effects such as tantrums, excess
level of emotional reactivity.
Issues pertaining Social Cohesion
The presence of migrants along with migrant organizations provoke opposition and can
be regarded as an area for criticism. Broadly, varied opinions related to the notion of
immigration intake along with an ethnically diversified society have been developed in the
middle of the 21st century when the observations of the One Nation Party obtained widespread
attention from the media (Valtonen, 2016). Another influencing factor for the families migrated
to Australia can be the unawareness with the Australian political system along with level of
uncertainty related to the ways the migrants will be treated. This has led several migrant families
to suppress their views and opinions on subjects related to the policies of Australia that relates to
multiculturalism.

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Factors of Race and Gender in the process of Migration
The varying immigration procedures of the country have been rapidly increasing by
favouring high expertise employees while preserving a focus on the reunification of families,
which has resulted to the vast inflows of women. However, several women migrants are
experiencing issues related to migration challenges that have emerged into a less fixed within the
domain of gendered roles of wife, mother, homemaker or a daughter (Nguyen, Chang & Loh,
2014). The economic development of the nation has traditionally favoured the migration of
women from other nations. With the growing significance of female migrants’ potential input
has been related to the economic reorganization as well as a divergence from manual labour
(Andersen & Collins, 2015). Australia has enhanced the occupational preferences open to
women settlers with the help of policies, which encourage highly expertise labour base. Another
aspect that has immense contribution to the growth of Australia’s populace of women colonizers
is the attrition of conventional social limitations on the migrant women in their birth countries.
The primary exclusion has been responsible for the ones under the family reunification program
occurred in 2002, when there was a portion of more than 60% of the 23,000 settlers were women
(Newman, Proctor & Dudley, 2013).
Cases of Vulnerability towards temporary migrants in Australian
Aspects of vulnerability to employer lack of compliance can be derived from various
sources. In recent times, a vigorous literary work has illustrated the exposed and vulnerable
employees with personal attributes and situations like age, expertise and social support
(Underhill & Rimmer, 2016). The significant influence of varied groups of temporary migrant
labour has offered to the concentration in uncertain and precarious work (Piper, 2013). These

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factors concentrate on the shortcomings of rights and privileges experienced by temporary settled
workers in comparison to the Aboriginal communities.
Literature Gap:
Several literary articles, journals and newspaper have been critically evaluated in order to
conduct this research and further understand the background of the issue. However, it is vital to
understand here, that this has led to the identification of a literature gap. It has been examined
that several literary works have evaluated the concept of migration and its varying effects.
Several researchers have concentrated on the way migration has its impact on the lives of the
women and the migrant workers. However, these research investigations have been unable to
shed light on the factors of related to the mental condition of children who have been uprooted
from their birth places and which causes traumatic effects on children and their changing ways of
behaviour. None of the research studies failed to identify the situations through which early
childhood foundation has been severely affected because of migration.
Conclusion
The shift that has drifted from family immigration and towards the notion of skilled
immigration has been considered as one of the most crucial transformation in the context of
Australian immigration policy. Sufficient investigation has been conducted in the domain of
migration and the far reaching impact on children, women and young adults. However, it is
immensely significant to evaluate the situation as well as formulate strategies to understand the
impact of migration on the children, women and families in the Australian context.

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References
Adair, J. K. (2015). The impact of discrimination on the early schooling experiences of children
from immigrant families. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from
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Andersen, M., & Collins, P. H. (2015). Race, class, & gender: An anthology. Nelson Education.
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3500_RaceSexuality3.pdf
Fozdar, F., & Hartley, L. (2013). Refugee resettlement in Australia: What we know and need to
know. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 32(3), 23-51. doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdt009
Goodall, K. T., Newman, L. A., & Ward, P. R. (2014). Improving access to health information
for older migrants by using grounded theory and social network analysis to understand
their information behaviour and digital technology use. European journal of cancer
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Halliday, J. A., Palma, C. L., Mellor, D., Green, J., & Renzaho, A. M. N. (2014). The
relationship between family functioning and child and adolescent overweight and obesity:
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Newman, L., Proctor, N., & Dudley, M. (2013). Seeking asylum in Australia: immigration
detention, human rights and mental health care. Australasian Psychiatry, 21(4), 315-320.
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Nguyen, T., Chang, P. P., & Loh, J. M. (2014). The psychology of Vietnamese tiger mothers:
qualitative insights into the parenting beliefs and practices of Vietnamese-Australian
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Piper, N. (2013). International Migration and Gendered Axes of Stratifi cation: Introduction.
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Underhill, E., & Rimmer, M. (2016). Layered vulnerability: Temporary migrants in Australian
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Valtonen, K. (2016). Social work and migration: Immigrant and refugee settlement and
integration. Routledge. Retrieved from
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Verdon, S., McLeod, S., & Winsler, A. (2014). Language maintenance and loss in a population
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