‘She Tells Me I Am a Strong Person’: Romanian and Polish Young Migrants' Talk About Significant Adults in the School Settings in Sweden

ABSTRACT This article examines young European migrants' relations with professionals in the school settings in Sweden. The research draws on a broader research project—‘Transnational childhoods: building of significant relationships among Polish and Romanian migrant children after reunification with parents in Sweden’, where 18 young people from Poland and Romania, aged between 16 and 29 were interviewed twice, using visual data such as lifelines and network maps. The article's main argument is that migrant children, who received recognition and care from teachers and other personnel in schools experienced long‐lasting positive effects on their self‐esteem and identity‐building. It is vital to convey this knowledge to the professionals working with children and young people with a migrant background as such knowledge may have a direct impact on the well‐being of newly arrived children in their current situation as well as in a longer time perspective.