Maria das Dores Guerreiro

The current chapter on international mobility challenges in higher education in the digital era focuses on students’ international mobility. It begins with an analysis of the research agenda to identify the main topics studied from 2018 to 2022. To this end, a systematic literature review was performed. This analysis is followed by the presentation of results from a survey that used quantitative techniques and was administered to students at Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, a public university in Portugal. The main findings from the research show that students’ perceptions of the university’s internationalization were very positive, specifically with regard to the opportunities offered by mobility to learn languages at other universities and embed themselves in other cultures with different values. The chapter also discusses virtual mobility based on digital education, a beneficial practice that will be explored in greater depth in the future.

Studies on the consequences of migration often ignore the perspectives of children and adolescents who remain in the origin country while their migrant parents are absent. This is the case in Tajikistan, one of the poorest and most remittance-dependent countries in the world. Using a qualitative methodology, micro-ethnography, we interviewed eight teenagers aged between 12 and 18, in the city of Khorugh, Tajikistan, to explore the impact of migration from their perspective. Findings reveal that these adolescents ‘understand’ the reasons for their parents’ migration in a way that both gives coherence to this migration and invests young people with resilience and coping strategies. As a result, all the young people naturalised having to live with sadness, reflecting the ‘normalisation’ of this social cost in wider Tajik society. However, the experiences and coping strategies of those interviewed are gendered; boys were more likely to ‘rationalise’ their experience and be aloof; girls more likely to express emotional upset. In practical terms, boys also received more benefits from remittances while girls reported feeling overwhelmed by domestic chores expected of them. Through this study, we contribute to the recent literature on the lived experiences and agency of non-migrant teenagers.

Portugal and the Russian Federation share some aspects of traditional culture and similar experiences in modern history, but they also exhibit significant differences that determine specific modes of civil society’s development. Results of a comparative and diachronic analysis show that the major differences between the two countries reside in civil society’s openness and composition. Organized civil society is not very distinct in relative size when comparing Portugal and the Russian Federation, but it is globally more autonomous, expressive, trusted and institutionalized in Portugal than in the Russian Federation and among the factors that contribute to this condition are an earlier and revolutionary transition to democracy, a larger middle class, a greater prevalence of the value of interdependence, and a regime that endorses bigger public social expenditure in Portugal, all this within the framework of the European Union that has a longer history of social demand and institutional incentives for civil society. Despite those unequal conditions, civil society faces similar current challenges in both countries, mainly with the outsourcing of the public provision of social services.

An emerging global consciousness and rising attention given to international social work development has seen the recognition of comparative research within the profession. Understanding the functioning and organisation of social work within various country contexts is critical in order to formulate knowledge around its overall impact, successes and challenges, allowing social workers to learn from one another and build professional consolidation. The profession is mapped out in 10 countries, reflecting on its structure, identity and development. Although the profession is developing globally, it is also experiencing significant challenges. Key insights, conclusions and recommendations for future research are presented.

From a gender perspective, this article analyses the concept of “healthy organization” through the study of the “dual agenda” of healthcare organizations. Based in the EU funded project “Quality of Life in a Changing Europe”, which priviledged a multi-method approach, we analyse data from an extensive survey applied in eight European countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Finland, The Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, United Kingdom and Sweden) and present two case studies undergone at university public hospitals in Sweden and in Portugal. Results show that the perceptions of what is a healthy organization are developed around the notions of social support, life satisfaction, work engagement and work-life reconciliation. Gender variations are a common feature in each of these dimensions. Organizational policies, professional trajectories and family resources are directly related to these variations.

This article examines the lived experiences of young people in the process of leaving the care of SOS Children’s Villages in both Nigeria and Portugal. Interviews were conducted with 12 young people and data were analysed using content analysis. Young people’s lived experiences were captured in three emerging dimensions of past, present and future experiences. The study recommends resolving young people’s childhood conflicts towards a successful transition into adulthood. It also has implications for policy practice in tailoring the present experiences in preparing young people for the demands of life after care.