International Migration: Push and Pull Factors

Active learning works well for this topic because students need to move beyond abstract definitions to experience the human realities behind migration. When they analyze real data, role-play decisions, and debate trade-offs, they grasp how push and pull factors shape lives in measurable ways.

• Year 10
• Geography
• 4 activities
• 30 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the primary economic and social push and pull factors that influence international migration flows.
2. Evaluate the demographic impacts of international migration on both sending and receiving countries.
3. Compare the challenges and opportunities presented by immigration for host countries, using specific examples.
4. Explain the relationship between political instability and the creation of refugee crises.
5. Synthesize information to propose policy recommendations for managing international migration.

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Push vs Pull Cards

Provide cards listing factors like war or jobs. Students sort them individually into push or pull piles, then pair up to justify choices and resolve differences, finally sharing class examples. Conclude with a group chart of verified factors.

Prepare & details

Analyze the economic and social impacts of remittances on sending countries.

Facilitation Tip: For Push vs Pull Cards, provide one factor per index card so students physically sort them, which makes abstract concepts tangible and sparks peer debate.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Document Mystery

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Mapping Activity: Global Migration Flows

Distribute world maps and recent migration data. In small groups, students plot top routes with arrows, color-code by push/pull dominance, and annotate impacts like remittances. Groups present one route to the class.

Prepare & details

Explain how political instability contributes to refugee crises.

Facilitation Tip: During the Global Migration Flows mapping activity, assign each pair a region so they focus on specific data before synthesizing the bigger picture.

Setup: Groups at tables with document sets

Materials: Document packet (5-8 sources), Analysis worksheet, Theory-building template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Simulation Game

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game: Refugee Decision-Making

Assign roles as families facing instability. Groups draw scenario cards with push factors, deliberate pull options for host countries, vote on migrations, and track demographic shifts on a class ledger over 'years.' Debrief on real impacts.

Prepare & details

Compare the challenges and opportunities presented by immigration for host countries.

Facilitation Tip: In the Refugee Decision-Making simulation, limit students’ knowledge of their options to mimic uncertainty, which helps them understand the stress behind real choices.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Jigsaw

⏱ 60 min·Small Groups

Jigsaw: Remittances Impact

Divide class into expert groups on sending countries like the Philippines or Mexico. Each researches remittances' economic/social effects, then reforms into mixed groups to teach and compare host country challenges. Synthesize findings in a shared report.

Prepare & details

Analyze the economic and social impacts of remittances on sending countries.

Facilitation Tip: For the Remittances Impact case study, give each group one stakeholder’s perspective to deepen their analysis before sharing with the class.

Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping

Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Teaching This Topic

Teachers approach this topic best by grounding discussions in real stories and data. Avoid presenting push and pull factors as simple lists, as students need to see how these forces interact in people’s lives. Research suggests role-play and mapping activities build empathy and spatial reasoning, while case studies help students connect economic concepts to human outcomes. Keep lessons grounded in specific places and times to prevent abstraction from overwhelming students.

What to Expect

Students will demonstrate understanding by accurately categorizing push and pull factors, mapping migration routes with evidence, making empathetic decisions in simulations, and explaining remittances’ economic effects. Their discussions should show they can weigh multiple societal impacts, not just economic ones.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Push vs Pull Cards, watch for students who assume economic factors are the only drivers of migration.

What to Teach Instead

Use the card-sorting task to highlight social and political factors by including items like 'family reunification' and 'political persecution' alongside wage differences, then ask groups to justify their placements in a class discussion.

Common Misconception

During Global Migration Flows, students may assume all international migrants are refugees fleeing danger.

What to Teach Instead

After plotting data, have students categorize flows by type (labor, student, refugee) using UN definitions, then discuss why some groups are overrepresented in certain routes.

Common Misconception

During Refugee Decision-Making simulation, students may believe host countries always benefit from immigration.

What to Teach Instead

After the simulation, debrief with a policy debate where students role-play government officials weighing costs and benefits, using evidence from their earlier discussions to challenge simplistic views.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Push vs Pull Cards, pose this to small groups: 'Imagine you are advising a government facing significant emigration. What are two key push factors you would recommend addressing first, and why?' Have groups share their top recommendation and justification with the class.

Quick Check

During Global Migration Flows, provide students with a short case study of a migrant arriving in Australia. Ask them to list one specific push factor from their origin country and one specific pull factor drawing them to Australia, based on the case study details.

Exit Ticket

After Refugee Decision-Making simulation, have students write one sentence explaining the difference between a 'refugee' and an 'economic migrant'. Then, ask them to list one potential challenge for a host country receiving a large number of immigrants.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to research a current migration policy and present one unintended consequence, using data from the simulation or mapping activity.
• For students who struggle, provide partially completed maps or pre-sorted factor cards so they can focus on analysis rather than recall.
• Deeper exploration: Have students compare two countries with opposite migration trends, using World Bank data to explain demographic shifts over 20 years.

Key Vocabulary

Push Factors	Reasons or conditions that compel people to leave their home country, such as poverty, conflict, or environmental degradation.
Pull Factors	Reasons or conditions that attract people to a new country, such as economic opportunities, political stability, or better living standards.
Remittances	Money sent by migrants back to their families in their home country, often playing a significant role in the economies of developing nations.
Refugee	A person who has been forced to leave their country of origin due to persecution, war, or violence, and cannot return due to a well-founded fear for their safety.
Demographic Impact	The effect of migration on the population characteristics of a country, including age structure, birth rates, death rates, and population density.