Læringsrum for integration og social retfærdighed: Succeshistorier fra elever med indvandrerbaggrund og skolesamfund i fire nordiske lande

Forskning i forskellige multikulturelle samfund og skoler i de seneste årtier har vist, at mange indvandrere og indvandrerbørn er marginaliserede. Dette har været et incitament for en række publikationer i de seneste årtier om skoleudvikling, læseplaner, pædagogik, skoleledelse, læreruddannelse og andre emner relateret til skole og uddannelse i multikulturelle kontekster. Forskningen har også vist eksempler på god praksis i sådanne sammenhænge,2 og i denne artikel vil vi præsentere et projekt som drejer sig om succeshistorier på dette område i Norden.Peer Reviewe

Icelandic as a second language: university students’ experiences

The aim of this paper is to present and analyze how university students experience teaching methods of Icelandic as a second language and communication with teachers during the learning process. The theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory and second language teaching and learning theories. The findings are based on qualitative interviews with twelve students who study Icelandic as a second language at the University of Iceland. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants were generally satisfied with the learning environment and had positive experiences of communication with the majority of the teachers. Nevertheless, the participants described themselves as being rather passive recipients of knowledge in the courses where explicit teaching of grammar was applied, and lacking active participation in the learning process. Additionally, the participants encountered several challenges during the learning process such as issues related to task-based and group assignments and, in some cases, teachers lacked understanding of different students’ needs, such as that of providing extra learning materials.Rannís: 163516Peer Reviewe

Communication and Group Work in the Multicultural Classroom: Immigrant Students’ Experiences

The paper is part of the qualitative research project Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland, conducted in Iceland’s three biggest universities. The main goal of the paper is to investigate immigrant students’ experiences of communication with teachers during the learning process and their perspectives on multicultural group work. Furthermore, the paper explores immigrant students’ experiences of learner-centred approach and culturally responsive teaching methods applied by some teachers. The data was collected through focus group interviews and qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach. Additionally, the theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory, which puts an emphasis on applying culturally responsive teaching methods in classrooms with diverse student populations. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants’ experiences of communication with teachers and peers were mostly positive. However, culturally responsive teaching is still a rare phenomenon in Icelandic universities. When it comes to the participants’ perspectives on group work, the experiences ranged from being highly positive to negative

Kennsla og stuðningur í íslenskum háskólum - Reynsla innflytjenda

Í kjölfar aukinna fólksf lutninga síðustu áratugi hefur innf lytjendum fjölgað í háskólum á Íslandi. Þessi grein er byggð á niðurstöðum rannsóknarverkefnisins Væntingar og tækifæri innf lytjenda á Íslandi til háskólamenntunar og áskoranir henni tengdar (2016-2018) sem styrkt er af Rannís. Meginmarkmið rannsóknarverkefnisins er að öðlast skilning á upplifunum, reynslu, áskorunum og stuðningi við innf lytjendur í háskólanámi hérlendis. Í þessari grein eru kynntar helstu niðurstöður úr eigindlegri rannsókn með innf lytjendum sem eru núverandi og fyrrverandi háskólanemar á Íslandi. Gagna var af lað í rýnihópaviðtölum og einstaklingsviðtölum við alls 41 nemanda í þrem háskólum á Íslandi. Markmið rannsóknarinnar sem greinin fjallar um er að öðlast skilning á reynslu og upplifun innf lytjenda af kennsluaðferðum, áskorunum og stuðningi í þremur stærstu háskólunum á Íslandi, Háskóla Íslands, Háskólanum í Reykjavík og Háskólanum á Akureyri. Niðurstöðurnar benda til þess að f lestir þátttakendur upplifi að kennsluaðferðir í háskólunum séu nútímalegar. Þeir nefna hagnýtar kennsluaðferðir, svo sem umræðutíma og hópavinnu, og að byggt sé á þekkingu þeirra og reynslu. Skoðanir á þessum kennsluaðferðum eru þó mismunandi. Sumir þátttakendur telja hópavinnu vera góða, en aðrir upplifa hana sem tímasóun. Sumir sækjast eftir akademísku námi, á meðan aðrir vilja frekar læra eitthvað hagnýtt, sem þeir geti notað í framtíðarvinnu. Þá telja þátttakendur að jafnræði ríki milli nemenda og kennara í háskólunum, en það hafa þeir ekki alltaf upplifað í heimalöndum sínum. Niðurstöðurnar sýna einnig að nemendurnir eru langf lestir jákvæðir gagnvart kennslu og stuðningi í íslenskum háskólum en þeir glíma við ýmiss konar áskoranir. Fram kemur að þeir leita eftir mismunandi stuðningi, bæði formlegum og óformlegum, svo sem betra aðgengi að formlegum upplýsingum fyrir innf lytjendur á innra neti og á vefsíðum háskólanna. Óformlegur stuðningur, svo sem frá íslenskum samnemendum, t.d. við nemendur sem hafa lítið tengslanet hér á landi, virðist heldur ekki mikill. Þátttakendur glíma einnig við ýmiss konar vandamál, einkum tungumálaerfiðleika, en einnig samskiptavandamál og skort á upplýsingum. Þátttakendur frá löndum utan EES/ES glíma við erfiðleika tengda dvalarleyfi sem geta haft mikil áhrif á nám og líðan. Þessi rannsókn getur nýst háskólum við að bregðast við aukinni fjölbreytni meðal háskólanema.Rannís (163516)Peer Reviewe

Formal and informal support at Icelandic universities: experiences of staff members and immigrant students

Due to increased migration in recent decades, universities must adapt their practices to meet the needs of a changing student body. Many immigrant students desire to complete their studies at universities, yet factors such as language of communication and cultural traditions limit their possibilities. This paper comes out of a study titled Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland. The findings are based on individual interviews with immigrant students and university staff members and focus group interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework of the study draws from the ideas of culturally competent counselling. This helps to analyse immigrant students’ experiences of formal and informal support during their university studies (Arredondo et al., 1996; Maunonen-Eskelinen, Kaikkonen & Clayton, 2005). Formal support constitutes institutional support provided by the universities, such as orientation programs and social activities of various kinds. Informal support, in contrast, incorporates other means of assistance to immigrant students either through those whom they trust, such as instructors, or community members in the role of cultural brokers. Immigrant students also get support through their present and former friends and through their extended family members. The findings indicate that, despite the challenges that immigrant students face at Icelandic universities, the majority were quite positive about their experiences as they described different types of formal and informal support which they obtained throughout their studies.Rannís: 163516Peer Reviewe

Samfélag fjölbreytileikans: Samskipti heimamanna og innflytjenda á Íslandi

Þessi ritrýnda útgáfa er afrakstur rannsóknaverkefnisins Inclusive Societies? The Integration of Immigrants in Iceland.Rannsóknin var styrkt af Rannsóknasjóði Rannís (styrkur nr. 184903-051).Peer Reviewe

“There isn´t a single recipe” Refugee children´s first year in preschools in three municipalities in Iceland

Árið 2016 kom hópur sýrlenskra kvótaflóttafjölskyldna til Íslands frá Líbanon og settist að í þremur sveitarfélögum (Stjórnarráð Íslands, 2019). Markmið rannsóknarinnar, sem hófst síðla árs 2016 og er langtímarannsókn, eru að athuga reynslu flóttabarna og foreldra þeirra af leik- og grunnskólastarfi og frístundastarfi; og að athuga reynslu stjórnenda og kennara í skólum og frístundaheimilum af móttöku barnanna, skipulagi náms og samstarfi við foreldrana. Í greininni er fjallað um þær niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar er snúa að reynslu starfsfólks leikskóla af móttöku og starfi með flóttabörnum úr hópnum og foreldrum þeirra fyrsta árið. Fræðilegur grunnur rannsóknarinnar er í gagnrýnum sjónarhornum á menntun og skólastarf (Banks, 2013; May og Sleeter, 2010; Nieto, 2010) og fjöltyngismenntun til félagslegs réttlætis (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2004; Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, Mohanty og Panda, 2009). Gagnrýnin sjónarhorn á menntun og skólastarf og fjöltyngismenntun til félagslegs réttlætis eru mikilvæg tæki til að varpa gagnrýnu ljósi á reynslu barna af menntun og leggja til umbætur. Gagna var aflað með hálfstöðluðum viðtölum við starfsfólk sex leikskóla. Niðurstöður benda til þess að börnunum vegni vel í leikskólunum og samstarf við foreldra gangi almennt vel, ekki síst vegna góðs undirbúnings fyrir komu flóttabarnanna. Það eru þó ærin verkefni sem leikskólarnir standa frammi fyrir, og snerta m.a. ólík tungumál og menningu.In 2016, eleven Syrian quota refugee families arrived in Iceland from Lebanon and settled in three municipalities (Stjórnarráð Íslands [Iceland Government Offices], 2019). This longitudinal qualitative interview study aims at understanding the experiences of these adults and their children in their preschool and compulsory school settings and leisure time activities; and to explore the experiences of principals and teachers in their schools and leisure time centres of the children´s reception, studies and educational partnerships with their parents. This article presents the findings of interviews with staff in six preschools in the three municipalities concerning the experiences of the reception and the first year of the children´s schooling. Altogether seven refugee children from the group, which arrived in 2016, attended these six preschools. They were one to five-years old when they started preschool in 2016. The theoretical framework of the study includes critical approaches to education (Banks, 2013; May & Sleeter, 2010; Nieto, 2010) and multilingual education for social justice (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2004; Skutnabb-Kangas, Phillipson, Mohanty & Panda, 2009). These approaches provide an important framework for critically addressing educational experiences of children and suggesting improvement. Methods included six semi-structured interviews with principals, heads of divisions and other staff in the children´s preschools, altogether twelve individuals. The interviews were conducted in April-June 2017 in the preschools. Two individuals from each preschool participated in each interview. A thematic analytical approach (Braun & Clarke, 2013) was applied to analyze the data. The main themes derived from the data were: preparation for the arrival of the children; reception of the children and the first year; educational practices; language acquisition; transition to compulsory school; educational partnerships with parents; and culture and religion. The preschools differ in many ways, including size and age, policy and practices. The ratio of children with foreign background in the preschools differs, while all the preschools have some experience of working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children. The findings indicate that the children are doing well in the preschools and the educational partnerships with the parents have been largely successful, not least because of thorough preparations before the children´s arrival. However, the preschools have many tasks and challenges to address, including for example the children´s emergent bilingualism and different cultural heritage. Educational practices in the preschools are inclusive and diverse and active participation of the children is emphasized in free play as well as organized activities. The older children get extra support in Icelandic in small groups with other emergent bilingual children. The schools do not provide mother language support in Arabic; however, their language and other languages are made visible in various ways in the schools and the children sing and count in different languages. Such emphasis is in line with multilingual education for social justice which ChumakHorbatsch (2012), Cummins (2001, 2004), Skutnabb-Kangas et al. (2009) and others have emphasized. The staff show respect and open-mindedness towards the culture and religion of the families and respect their effort of adapting to very different social and cultural conditions in Iceland. The staff are generally not trained in multicultural and multilingual education (Banks, 2013; Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2001, 2004; Nieto, 2010), however, the educational practices in the preschool adhere to such emphasis in many ways, according to the findings. Although most of the families are doing well after the first year, the staff note that some of the parents are becoming increasingly worried as time passes and that this could be related to concerns about their children´s future. The findings indicate that educational partnerships with parents could be strengthened further in the preschools and that professional development of the staff in multilingual and multicultural education, as well as Icelandic as a second language, could provide a stronger educational and social basis for the refugee children. Hiring Arabic speaking staff for building bridges between preschool and parents and supporting the children would also be beneficial.Peer Reviewe

Education and participation in a new country: Experiences of immigrants, refugees and schools

Fólki af erlendum uppruna hefur fjölgað mjög á Íslandi undanfarna áratugi. Menntakerfi gegna mikilvægu hlutverki við aðlögun barna og ungmenna að nýju samfélagi og við að stuðla að lýðræðislegri þátttöku þeirra. Markmið þessarar yfirlitsgreinar er að varpa ljósi á helstu niðurstöður nýlegra rannsókna höfundar og samstarfsfólks um málefni barna og ungmenna af erlendum uppruna. Fjallað er um reynslu innflytjenda og flóttafólks af menntun og þátttöku í íslensku samfélagi, reynslu kennara og stjórnenda af menntun barna og ungmenna af ólíkum uppruna, hvernig skólastarf hefur þróast til að mæta þörfum sífellt fjölbreyttari nemendahópa og hvaða leiðir eru færar í menntun fjölbreyttra hópa. Niðurstöður rannsóknanna benda til þess að mörg barnanna og ungmennanna hafi upplifað ýmsa erfiðleika í íslenskum skólum og frístundastarfi. Þrátt fyrir margs konar styrkleika sem þau telja sig hafa eiga þau í erfiðleikum með að læra íslensku og að tengjast íslenskum jafnöldrum. Samskipti heimila og skóla eru í sumum tilvikum ómarkviss og ófullnægjandi. Ein þessara rannsókna varpar þó ljósi á fjölmörg dæmi um öflugt og gott skólastarf, að nokkru leyti í anda fjölmenningarlegrar menntunar, þar sem áhersla er á lýðræðislega þátttöku og þar sem börnum og ungmennum af erlendum uppruna vegnar vel.Immigration to Iceland has increased rapidly in recent decades. People move to the country for different reasons, some as refugees. Education systems play a vital role in the integration of children and youth to a new society and in supporting their democratic participation. To be able to fulfill these roles, schools must to adjust to the needs of diverse groups of students and develop their practices according to demographic changes. The article, which presents an overview of literature, discusses the experiences of immigrants and refugees in Iceland of education and participation in Icelandic society. The article draws on research conducted with several groups of students at different school levels and their families the last 20 years. The experiences of practitioners in schools, teachers and principals at different levels of the education of children and youth of diverse origins are also addressed, as well as the development of educational practices in the past decades to respond to an increasingly diverse student group. The article concludes with a discussion on possible paths in the education of diverse groups of students in coming years. The theoretical background of most of the research studies is in critical approaches to education (Banks, 2013; May & Sleeter, 2010; Nieto, 2010) where the rights of minority groups to education are emphasized, as well as counteracting inequalities. Nieto (2010) claims that empowerment in schools entails that students are active participants instead of being passive receivers and that teachers build on their students’ resources and abilities in their teaching. The approaches of multilingual education for social justice also form a basis of the article. Scholars (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2004; Skutnabb-Kangas et al., 2009) argue that it is important to make students’ heritage languages visible in schools and build on these in teaching. They note that these basic human rights of every student are often neglected. Theoretical writing on citizenship education, civic engagement and democratic participation of diverse groups (Sigrún Aðalbjarnardóttir, 2015, 2019) is also discussed. Sigrún Aðalbjarnardóttir (2015, 2019) notes that participation in decision-making in society is one of the pillars of democracy and that therefore it is important to promote young people’s interest and ability to engage in societal matters. Teachers should be supported in their professional development to reflect on their practices and to create learning communities. The findings of the research presented in the article indicate that many children and youths of immigrant and refugee background experience various challenges in Icelandic schools. These include lack of participation and civic engagement, difficulties in learning Icelandic, lack of support in their heritage languages, and marginalisation. However, the findings of recent research with youths at compulsory and secondary school levels indicate that they are positive towards the growing cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in Icelandic society and find it important for everyone to participate in discussions, learn about each other’s opinions and respect different views. A recent research project conducted in 27 schools on pre-, compulsory and upper secondary levels in four Nordic countries, including Iceland, focused on understanding the experiences of students of immigrant backgrounds who have succeeded in education and participation and how social justice and equity is represented in educational practices in their schools. The findings of the project reveal various initiatives in the schools which promote participation of diverse groups of students and build on the resources which they bring, such as different languages and cultures. The schools have developed multicultural and multilingual learning spaces for their students and staff. The project sheds light on how schools can develop educational practices which respond to the growing cultural, linguistic and religious diversity in Iceland, as well as in other Nordic countries, and create learning spaces where active participation and learning of all students is promoted.Peer Reviewe

Empowering female ethnic minority students in Iceland

Introduction Immigration to Iceland has been increasing steadily since 1995 and has reached 7.4 % in 2015 (Hagstofa Íslands, 2016). This fact has brought with it new inspiration and challenges for the educational researcher that seeks to understand the educational needs of diverse students and how to provide them with effective learning opportunities. In this article, we take a critical look at the University of Iceland’s School of Education International Studies in Education (ISE) program and ask how this program has influenced the lives of the participating women who all have an immigrant background. Drawing on the knowledge gained through personal narratives and focus group interviews in 2011, we sought to answer the following key questions: In what way can education be an instrumental part of women’s empowerment, and how can it be a fundamental component in giving women the “tools” they need to reach their goals and aspirations? What role does the critical pedagogy emphasis of the program play for the educational achievements of the women and how does it facilitate a multicultural learning community?Peer Reviewe