Discovering Keys to the Integration of Immigrants - From Human Capital towards Social Capital

Abstract

In many respects, a successful integration of immigrants has been understood by the entrance and status of immigrants in the labour market in Finland. Also, the policy discourse on immigrant integration has mainly focused on the role of human capital, which has not solved all the challenges posed by integration and diversity. Therefore, the concept of social capital was a needed complement to the integration of immigrants. In this study, contacts between immigrants and native-born people were in special focus. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of social capital in a two-way adaptation process of immigrants in Tampere city region by exploring Multicultural Training and Recruitment Project, MORO! with different social capital studies.

Even though there were plenty of studies where social capital theories were applied to the immigrant research, a study which would have explored the suitability of different social capital studies for the integration studies, was lacking. One target of this study was to find out which social capital studies were the most appropriate for clarifying the role of social capital in the integration of immigrants. This study was also intended to point out with the help of MORO! case study different outlooks around the social capital concept connected to integration research and to disentangle how social capital facilitates the way towards intercultural environments.

The interviews of the MORO! project partakers functioned as research material in this qualitative case study. 14 theme interviews were gathered during summer 2004. The studies of the most often mentioned and renowned social capital scholars, whose research suited the research subject, were chosen for deeper examination. Next, the intercultural contacts within the MORO! project were analysed with the social capital studies especially suitable for studying the two-way integration process. The integration obstacles and promoters were searched as well and the intercultural relations were categorised and further analysed with the social capital studies and finally a synthesis was formed out of them.

Based on the chosen social capital studies applied to the MORO! context, those with a structural emphasis explained the reasons for the lack of social capital between immigrants and native-born people. Instead, the studies with a relational emphasis showed how the social capital between the two groups could be strengthened. Also, the different types of social capital attached to the project partakers were found. The types were either culturally homogenous or heterogeneous. From these types, a path towards multicultural environments could be outlined, as the culturally congruent groups worked as a foundation for the multicultural groups. During the process, the cognitive dimension of social capital was changing as the relations between immigrants and native-born people became closer.

The division of different social capital dimensions and types opened up new scenes for integration related social capital research. In addition, the results of this study strengthened the sense of uncompelled social relations in promoting the social capital between immigrants and native-born people. Over all, the integration of immigrants is a wide macro-level societal learning process. To open up the process, the micro-level factors would have to be studied distinctively before wider conclusions of the integration process could be made. The aim in the background of this study was to gather and analyse data from the aptitude of the social capital concept for integration studies that decision-makers could use for more sustainable social development of the city. Besides public promotion, the emergence of social capital between immigrants and native-born people requires individuals who lead the way in a multicultural society.

Key words: Immigrants, Integration and Social Capital