Mobility trajectories

Educators are encountering more varied student populations in their classrooms, yet they frequently struggle to transform this diversity into an added value for educational practice and for students’ engagement. Research project MO-TRAYL (mobility trajectories of young lives), at Maastricht University examined how the geographic movement of young migrants (the geographical moves in space and time that youth and their family members engage in, resulting in changing family constellations over a youth’s life course) affects their experiences.

This exercise focuses on mapping the international mobility of students with a migrant background, which can benefit diverse classrooms in formal education. By mapping the physical movements of these students, the distinctive expertise and abilities they developed because of the mobility become more visible and converts migration patterns and cultural diversity into a beneficial educational opportunity.

The exercise is developed by research project MO-TRAYL (mobility trajectories of young lives), at Maastricht University. For more information about the activity, we gladly refer to the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ldGykS14jI  and the MO-TRAYL website: https://www.motrayl.com/.

Beyond educational settings, this mobility mapping exercise has broader applications: exploring someone’s geographical movements and life transitions can be a valuable conversation starter and reflective tool in various contexts, such as coaching sessions or personal development work.