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Mind the gap! Policies and practices of educational reception in Rotterdam and
Barcelona
del Milagro Bruquetas Callejo, M.
Publication date
2012
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
del Milagro Bruquetas Callejo, M. (2012). Mind the gap! Policies and practices of educational
reception in Rotterdam and Barcelona.
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Acknowledgments
“How can Pindar be a praised poet, if human goodness is nourished, and even constituted, by external happenings? (..) To what extent can we distinguish what is to up to the world and what is up to us, when assessing a human life?”. Martha Nussabaum’s words remind us that human excellence was seen by ancient Greeks as something vulnerable and in need of others. In the same spirit, I believe that our merits and achievements need to be acknowledged as a shared, collective production to a large extent.
Writing a thesis, is not a lonely enterprise. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, it is about building a social network. Most notably, when one moves to live in another country, as in my case. As a matter of fact, in my case it was building a social network what pushed me into doing a PhD. I would probably never have written this thesis had I not met and fallen in love with Tom Leeuwestein, my husband, during my work in the UGIS research. For that reason, I’m indebted above all with Javier Moreno Fuentes, Andrés Walliser and Tomás Rodríguez Villasante, for inviting me to join them in the UGIS research. I want to thank all of my colleagues in the UGIS network, for their interesting discussions and warmth which helped me change my views about ‘academics’ and the academic career. In particular, to Rogger Andersson, Hans Anderson, Ronald van Kempen, and Irene Molina, for directly encouraging me to pursue a doctorate. Also a very special role in my story was played by Thea Dukes, Inge van Nieuwenhuyzen and Karien Dekker. I’ll never forget our long conversation about PhDs and life ever held in an airplane towards Barcelona. I also remember Sandra Gil very strongly, for inspiring me in the very beginning with her ideas and enthusiasm.
During my PhD years I counted in the day to day life on the irreplaceable presence of a small and loyal club of PhD colleagues and friends. Blanca Garces Mascareñas, the first friend that I made at IMES, has been for me the most constant support and complicity throughout the whole process, even in the distance. But also my friendship with Lisa Peters has been an irreplaceable backing, with her unique mixture of pragmatism and sense of humor. I want to thank you both for being my front-office of support, sharing everyday adventures and miseries, and laughing together. With you guys, writing a thesis has been a collective enterprise (Yes, We Could!) through which our friendship grew stronger. Also, during some parts of the trajectory, Elke Winters, María Villares and Maria del Mar Griera belonged to this club. At the end of the journey, Elif Kerskiner has been the most important friend encouraging me not to despair towards the end, and feeding me constantly with useful critique and interesting intellectual challenges. Javier Moreno Fuentes also deserves a very special mention for inspiring, reading, and supporting me in its broad sense. You are one of the few friends previous to the thesis whose friendship has not suffered from it but rather grown stronger thanks to it.
My colleagues at IMES have also given me lots of input and emotional support. In spite of the difficult times, over the years a sense of camaraderie developed among the PhDs making it very pleasant to work there. Only now when I look back I do realize how lucky I have been that I still enjoyed the last years of the institute and the indispensable company of very nice and interesting colleagues. I’m thinking above all of Floris Vermeulen, Manolis Pratsinakis, Jeroen Doomernik, Mies van Niekerk, Aimee Rindonks, Marcel Maussen, Boris Slijper, Anja van Heelsum, Flip Lindo, Rick Wolff, Maurice Crul, Martha Montero-Sieburth, Karina Hof, Ioannis Tzazinis, Marlene de Vries and some visiting fellows like Mayida Zaal, Parveen. Also the people at AMIDST have played a role in my story. Many thanks to Sako Musterd, Wim van Oostendorf, and to Albert Terrones, Arkaitz Fullaondo, Joran Grünfeld, Nadav Haran, Thea Dukes, Amanda Brandelero, Manuel Aalberts, Inge van der Welle, Wouter van Gent and the group of PhD
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colleagues. The semester that I worked in your company was one of the most ‘gezellig’ periods in the whole PhD trajectory. I also want to thank the ‘Gumusz’ girls for being there: Pauline Muller, Evelyn Ersanilli, Simone Bruin, Hilje van der Horst, Diane van Bergen, and to Saskia Bonjour. The group was a stimulating and supporting environment in a time of loneliness.
My gratitude goes also to for all those who have read and commented on my work in its various versions: Kees Groenendijk, Dvora Yanow, Alberto Martín, Elif Kerskiner, Blanca Garcés Mascareñas, Lisa Peters, Mar Griera, Carlos Bruquetas Callejo, etc. Particularly, to Martha Montero-Sieburth, who read and commented on the whole book. All of you have given me new insights to improve remarkably my final product. Also the feedback received by Joanne van der Leun, Hassan Bousetta, Virginie Guiraudon, Patrick Ireland, Cristian Joppke during the PhD Seminar on Comparative Research on Integration was also extremely helpful. Special thanks to Hassan Bousetta for sending me his thesis, and to Han Entzinger for sending me several of his articles; both have been an important source of inspiration in many ways. Maggie Schmitt and Paulina Jiménez also deserve a very special place in these acknowledgments. Thanks to their careful English editing and useful comments, this book’s quality gained substantially. In spite of all the difficulties, I really want to show my eternal gratitude for the time and effort that you put in it for a friends’ rate. I’m also incredible grateful to Mijke, Wim and Tom for their correction of the summary of the thesis in Dutch and to Edu Callejo for his beautiful cover design.
To a very large extent I’m indebted to my informants, as without their cooperation my study would have simply not been possible. In Rotterdam I’m thinking above all of the people from the schools who allowed me to observe them: Hennie de Beer, Olivia van Roon, Ronald van Veen and Dillek. Also to Eddie Meijers, from the JOS department in the city of Rotterdam, who was the man who put me in contact with the schools, and opened the doors to many interviewees for me. I’m also thankful to every person who opened some time in their agendas for an interview, in particular to Harry van Ona, Sybella van Dongen, Nico van Wijk, Paul Hoops, Jantine Kriens, Ivo Veenkamp, Marlies Schouter, Myra Zweekhorfts, Ineke Ketelaar, Hanneke Klunder, Arnold Koot, Freddie Mei, Olga Treeps, Gerard Oude Engberink, Ger Willemsen, Zeki Arslan, Willen Tuijnman.
In Barcelona I also want to show my gratitude to my main informants: Montse Chamorro, Pilar Ferrer, Albert Grau, Empar Soler, José Ruiz, Isabel Almecija, Marisa Alonso, Sagrario Mir. A special mention goes for Pepi Soto who introduced me to the network of actors and facilitated with me some of the best contacts in schools. My gratitude goes also to every person who participated in the research, in particular to: Ricard Gomá, Josep Vallcorba, Jordi Pascual, Adela Ros, Ana Teruel, Ramón Sanahuja, Maite Muller, Tino Serra, Valentin Rios, Fátima Ahmed, Enric Canet, Pep Martí, Rosa Rios, Xavier Alonso, Joana Martín, Saoka Kingolo, Ricard Zapata, Xavier Bonal, Jordi Moreras, Fathia Benhammou, Teresa Climent, Rosa Securún, Lorenzo Cachón, Eliseo Aja, and Adela Franzé.
Finally, the organizations that sponsored my research deserve a very special mention. During my PhD trajectory I was financially supported by the Fundación Caja Madrid, Fundació Jaume Bofil, the European Commission via its Marie Curie RTN Urb- Europe network, and of course, the IMES institute during the last year of my writing. Indirectly I have been also supported by several Dutch and Spanish Ministries, via the salaries of my husband and my parents. Other particular sponsors have been Blanca, Lide, and Pako, who housed me during my fieldwork in Barcelona. Moreover, I am eternally grateful to all the women thanks to which work/ help I have been able to write this thesis, particularly to Maiza Campos Ponce, Sara Claramunt, and Tatjana Crnjovic. Also, to Tom and my parents for taking care of Elisa in weekends, holidays and periods when I went in retreat.
All these people have played their role in my story. But if two persons have been absolutely indispensable to this thesis, these are my promotors, Rinus Penninx and Jack Burgers. To them I owe the wise guidance
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and sharp criticism that has helped me out through this expedition. I must recognize that our confrontations and discussions have actually helped to get the best out of me, and have brought me a book far beyond one I had ever imagined.
I dedicate my work to Elisa and to Tom, my life companions, who have equally suffered my PhD (without your blind confidence in my capacities and your unconditional support I would have never made it). To my parents, Carlos and Nane, who have stimulated in me the curiosity and the will to learn and who have always been there in spite of the distance. And finally, I dedicate this research to my aunts Marisa and Fuencisla Galán, who migrated to Mexico with the Spanish republican exodus after Franco’s coup d’état. Their reception in Mexico wasn’t without difficulties, in spite of the support that the president Lázaro Cárdenas offered to Spanish exiles. As they put it: The government wanted us but the (Mexican) people didn’t. My aunts were the first ones to inspire me with the idea of a gap between integration policies, and their implementation.
