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21 J. Refugee Stud. 166 (2008)
Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework

handle is hein.journals/jrefst21 and id is 170 raw text is: Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 21, No. 2 ( The Author (20081. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissionsooxfordjournals.org doi:10 1093/jrs/fenO16 Advance Access publication 17 April 2008 Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework ALASTAIR AGER1 ALISON STRANG2 'Program on Forced Migration and Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Avenue, New York 10032, New York, USA aa2468@columbia.edu 2Institute for International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, EH21 6UU, UK Integration has become both a key policy objective related to the resettlement of refugees and other migrants, and a matter of significant public discussion. Coherent policy development and productive public debate are, however, both threatened by the fact that the concept of integration is used with widely differing meanings. Based on review of attempted definitions of the term, related literature and primary fieldwork in settings of refugee settlement in the UK, the paper identifies elements central to perceptions of what constitutes ,successful' integration. Key domains of integration are proposed related to four overall themes: achievement and access across the sectors of employment, housing, education and health; assumptions and practice regarding citizenship and rights; processes of social connection within and between groups within the community; and structural barriers to such connection related to language, culture and the local environment. A framework linking these domains is presented as a tool to foster debate and definition regarding normative concep- tions of integration in resettlement settings. Keywords: refugee, integration, perceptions, framework, employment, housing, education, health, citizenship, rights, social connection, language, culture Introduction The Indicators of Integration study that formed the foundation for this paper was commissioned by the UK Home Office in 2002 as part of the wider evaluation of the effectiveness of Challenge Fund (CF) and European Refugee Fund (ERF) funded projects across the United Kingdom. A large number of these projects were seeking to support the integration of refugees within the UK in line with the policy direction specified within the Home Office paper 'Full and Equal Citizens' (2001a). While indicating a number of areas where integration is to be encouraged, 'Full and Equal Citizens' did not offer a formal definition of the term.