Nemendur af erlendum uppruna: Reynsla foreldra og kennara af námi og kennslu

Nemendum af erlendum uppruna hefur fjölgað mikið í íslenskum skólum. Það kallar á að skólar bregðist við námsþörfum þessa nemendahóps. Markmið þessarar greinar er að fjalla um reynslu kennara og foreldra af menntun nemenda af erlendum uppruna. Í eigindlegri rannsókn voru tekin viðtöl við þrjátíu og átta grunnskólakennara um reynslu þeirra af því að kenna nemendum af erlendum uppruna og helstu áskoranir sem því fylgja. Einnig voru tekin viðtöl við tíu erlenda foreldra um reynslu þeirra af íslenskum skólum. Niðurstöður sýna að kennarar telja sig ekki vera nægilega vel studda til þess að skilja og takast á við námsþarfir nemendanna. Upplifun foreldra litast af hugmyndum þeirra um skólann sem hinn hefðbundna stað fyrir nám og íslenska skólakerfið ögrar þessum skilningi þeirra. Skortur er á samvinnu og samskiptum milli forelda og kennara. Í niðurlagi er lagt til að skólar stuðli að markvissari umræðu um þarfir nemenda og væntingar foreldra svo að efla megi og bæta menntun nemenda af erlendum uppruna.There is a constantly growing number of students of foreign origin in Icelandic education. These changes require schools and teachers to respond to the educational needs these students may have. The results of Icelandic research on multicultural education have, in the main, suggested that the Icelandic school system is failing in its efforts to educate children of foreign origin. Current legislation on schools in Iceland strongly emphasises equality, and schools are expected to suit their operation as closely as possible to the situation and needs of the students; thus, in a broad sense, supporting every student’s development, welfare and education. This emphasis is reiterated, at each stage, in the Icelandic National Curriculum Guide for Compulsory Schools (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneyti, 2012b) Icelandic education policy is based on the ideology of the inclusive school which focuses on meeting students’ diverse needs, whether those be academic or social; thus the operation of the school attempts to ensure that students are given equal or equivalent educational opportunities The policy also emphasizes the diversity of the student group, leading to their varied needs. Despite the attempt to recognize diversity within the Icelandic school system, for example in legislation and curricula, the multicultural aspect of the education policy has not received much attention. In academic discourse on the inclusive school and multicultural education, research, both in Iceland and abroad shows that impediments to real change towards multicultural practices are not least to be found in attitudes to students who need additional assistance in their studies and in parents’ and teachers’ expectations towards them. When initiating and developing a multicultural, inclusive school operation, respect for families and their diverse backgrounds has a crucial role. School staff have to be prepared to work with parents of varied origin and to demonstrate an understanding of their circumstances and world view. The objective of this article is to examine the experience of teachers and parents of students with immigrant background with regard to their education. Answers are sought to the following research questions: How do teachers approach the education of children of foreign origin; and how do parents from abroad perceive and experience their children’s education? Focus group interviews were conducted with thirty eight teachers from six primary schools discussing their experience of teaching students of a foreign background and the main challenges they faced in this context. Individual interviews were also conducted with ten parents from abroad in relation to their perception of Icelandic schools and their children’s education, The research revealed that the teachers feel they are not sufficiently trained and prepared to tackle the demanding tasks of multicultural teaching. Furthermore, the support and encouragement needed to stimulate teachers’ interest and ambition to take on this kind of teaching appeared to be lacking. Due to insufficient communication between schools and homes, many parents are unfamiliar with the aims and methods of the Icelandic school system. This has caused foreign parents to distrust the school and prevented them from being able to keep close track of their children’s studies. The parents’ attitudes are coloured by their notions of the school as a traditional venue of study and the Icelandic school system challenges their traditional ideas in this respect. Cooperation and communication between parents and teachers is also lacking. The article suggests that these shortcomings should be dealt with and discussion and dialogue should be encouraged between the parties concerned, focusing on the students’ needs and parental expectations, with the aim of supporting and improving the education of students of foreign origin.Peer reviewe

The Integration of Immigrants in Iceland : Subjective indicators of integration based on language, media use, and creative practice

This PhD project investigates aspects of immigrants’ integration in Iceland based on language use, media use, and creative practice. Traditionally, studies present integration as a linear process focussing on objective measures. Less attention has been paid to the immigrants’ subjective perceptions of integration, which provide insights into immigrants’ personal evaluations of integration processes. Integration, in this thesis, is understood as a multifaceted process covering social, economic, and political factors and subjective perceptions (life satisfaction and immigrants’ trust in the receiving society.) This thesis aims to answer the research question of how immigrants in Iceland experience integration. Statistical analysis of quantitative data conducted amongst immigrants (N=2139) and Icelanders (N=3395) was combined with qualitative analysis of interviews (N=15). In addition, this thesis incorporates a cross analysis of the research conducted and studies conducted by the article co-authors in Iceland, a comparative approach combining research conducted in Iceland and in the Faroe Islands by a co-author of an article, and an analysis of an artistic event at the Reykjavík City Library. Immigrants’ embeddedness in the receiving society was most relevant for their life satisfaction in the receiving society. The immigrants’ linguistic profile was less pertinent, challenging the common notion of language as being key to integration. Immigrants were generally motivated to learn Icelandic, but immigrants also recognized limitations to linguistic integration considering prevailing language attitudes and a lack of quality courses that are accessible. Immigrants simultaneously participate in multiple online and offline communities. Those who are frequently in contact with their countries of origin through media and social media were less involved in their receiving communities offline but more involved online. Findings show that integration is a highly contextual, individual experience conditioned by the immigrants’ aspirations and capabilities and the framework provided by the receiving society. Immigrants can further experience feelings of belonging and integration in multiple communities simultaneously

REMix: The university as an advocate for responsible education about migration in Europe: Inclusive societies: A textbook for interdisciplinary migration studies

With the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Unio

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

Constance Gunderson, Human Trafficking: The Trafficking of Women in Northern Germany for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation. Systematic Overview of Community Based Responses and Challenges (Bremen: Lit Verlag, 2012)

A review of the following book: Constance Gunderson, Human Trafficking: The Trafficking of Women in Northern Germany for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation. Systematic Overview of Community based responses and challenges (Bremen: Lit Verlag, Bremen 2012

Ernesto Kiza, Tödliche Grenzen – Die fatalen Auswirkungen europäischer Zuwanderungspolitik (Münster: Lit Verlag, 2008)

A review of Ernesto Kiza's Tödliche Grenzen, concerning migration and European policies on migrant

Freedom of the press – two concepts

Within Western democracies there seemed to be no accord on where the limits of freedom of the press should be. The history of freedom of the press is a history of the debates on the limits and borders of a free press. There is no “original meaning of freedom of the press,” a formula which is often used in order to give weight to an argument. Our modern understanding of freedom of the press is the result of different social developments in the nineteenth century, which explain the different limits for a free press. Personal rights and/or state interests seem to have different levels of importance in legal systems and perceptions in Germany and the English-speaking world. There is a stronger emphasis in the Anglo-American world upon limiting the free press for reasons of state security than in the Federal Republic of Germany, and vice versa where personal rights are involved. These differences are explained by the fact that in the English speaking world John Stuart Mill’s argument for freedom dominated the debate while his justification based on Utilitarianism never prevailed in Germany. This paper will explain the different development

What is morality? Colloquium in honour of Mikael M. Karlsson

Official Programme of the ColloquiumEnginn útdráttu

Jan Philipp Sternberg, Auswanderungsland bundesrepublik : denkmuster und debatten in politik und medien 1945 – 2010 (Studien zur historischen migrationsforschung, Bd. 26, Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag, 2012)

Book reviewEnginn útdráttu