The important building blocks of newcomer immigrant students’ education in the Norwegian context

The education of immigrant students, particularly newcomers, must be considered from a holistic framework. The conceptual article aims to highlight other important aspects of newcomers’ education, in addition to language and subject content learning. The three overlooked yet most important components of holistic education for newcomers are the following: (1) well-being pedagogy, (2) positive and comprehensive collaboration with newcomer parents, and (3) teachers’ positive ideology of newcomers and their families. This article begins with a brief presentation of the issue in newcomers’ education demonstrating an emphasis on some important yet overlooked elements in newcomer education. Consequently, in Norway, despite educational efforts aimed at supporting immigrant students, they continue to perform poorly compared with ethnic Norwegian students. Then, the paper defines what well-being pedagogy is and why well-being should be included in the comprehensive and successful schooling of newcomers. Here, well-being pedagogy is not limited to newcomer students’ well-being; rather, it includes teachers (who work with newcomers) and newcomer parents’ well-being. The why and how of comprehensive and successful collaboration with newcomer parents is discussed as a second important component. The third building block is teachers’ positive ideology of newcomers and their parents. The paper establishes that the positive ideology and perceptions of newcomer students and their families are the core of the holistic education of immigrant students. This paper contributes to knowledge development for the education of newly arrived immigrant students by engaging in a discussion that can foster teacher motivation and commitment, resulting in greater support for newcomer students. Second, even though this paper is framed in the context of Norwegian society, the aim is to inspire the international community of educators and researchers committed to an equitable learning environment for immigrant students to consider the topic for further exploration. The article concludes with teachers’ practice recommendations for schools and some directions for future research

Happy Start or Happy Ending? Exploring Educational Provisions in Norwegian Elementary Reception Classes

This thesis explores educational provisions for newly arrived minority language pupils (NAMLPs) in Norwegian elementary reception classes at two levels: (a) systemic conditions (b) pedagogical conditions. This exploration is presented in four articles about educational provisions from different theoretical perspectives and on different analytical levels, ranging from the policy level measures for reception classes to municipal level organisations and to classroom practices in one reception class. The thesis is based on two research questions. First, I examine systemic conditions/responses, forming the wider context, including school leadership and guiding documents at national, municipal and school levels. In order to explore systemic conditions for NAMLPs, the perceptions of and experiences of the professionals who work in or for reception classes were explored through interviews, conversations and documents. Two elementary reception schools, located in Oslo and Trondheim, participated. The second research question is focused on a reception classroom and involves considerations, concerns, ideologies, expectations, decisions and teachers’ practices; in other words, teachers’ pedagogical orientations. In this ethnographic part of the study, data was collected through video, interviews, documents and conversations. The main finding, presented in article I, is that the national and municipal procedures and responses provide grounds for the structures/conditions that accommodate NAMLPs in the educational system. The review of procedures at three levels (national municipal and school) shows that when it comes to educational provisions for NAMLPs at systemic level, NAMLPs are subsumed within the wider category of minority pupils without realizing their special diverse needs. The education policy emphasizes creating an inclusive “school for all”. Yet, the policy briefly addresses NAMLPs only in terms of their linguistic needs. Indeed, pupils who are new in the country are named in official documents, including the policy, as newly arrived minority language pupils (nyankomne minoritetsspråklige elever), referring to their language deficiency only. At municipal and school levels, the reception coordinators appeared to know the educational procedures and practices for NAMLPs the best. The second main theme of the study, presented in articles II, III and IV can be captured as empowering and well-being pedagogy, referring to the teacher's selfconstructed pedagogies that empower NAMLPs by affirming their identities, experiences, culture, language and background and going beyond their language learning needs. These pedagogies are accompanied by uncertainty and calls for ongoing professional support for reception teachers. Based on the findings, there is a need to recognize NAMLPs with their diverse needs in a holistic way (as a distinct group) in all procedural levels. This empirically driven project contributes to the knowledge around educational provisions for NAMLPs by its focus on systemic and pedagogical conditions in a context that has not been investigated before. The project fills a void in research by highlighting the gap in research about NAMLPs and provide a foundation for further research. Third, featuring classroom pedagogies that are based on NAMLPs’ needs and backgrounds, other than language learning, is the critical part of this research project. Considering well—being pedagogy (both NAMPLs’ and reception teachers’ well-being) as an integral part of reception classes can bring positive energy to reception classes

Exploring perceptions and practices of science teachers about how boys and girls learn science

What one considers desirable ways of teaching and learning science is influenced by one\u27s conception of science. Therefore, what constitutes good science teaching can be better understood by understanding what the teacher\u27s conception is. Teachers\u27 perception of students and how they learn science is also influenced by how they teach science. The present study is based on a case study of two science teachers (a male and female), whose perceptions about how boys and girls learn science and practices in a coeducation classroom have been explored. The study sought to answer two questions: What are science teachers\u27 (a female and a male) perceptions about how girls and boys learn science in secondary schools in Pakistan? How do these perceptions influence their teaching practices in science classes? Data was collected mainly through interviewing and observing the classrooms of a male and a female science teacher, teaching a coeducation class. The findings of this study indicate that science teachers have many unexamined perceptions that influence their practices. The findings of these perceptions indicate that teachers think that science requires experiments and asking questions. They also think that science (with the exception of biology) is for boys. The practices\u27 findings tend to marginalize or exclude girls from learning science in co-education classes in Pakistan. They have higher expectations from boys than from girls, they call on boys more often than girls to answer questions and use examples more common to boys\u27 experiences. This is because the teachers\u27 knowledge of science and pedagogy is limited. Furthermore, there is a clear evidence that teachers\u27 perceptions and practices in co-education classes favor boys. It also indicates that there is a gap between teachers\u27 perception and teaching of science. Although the purpose of the study is not to give suggestions for the renovation of perceptions and practices of the teachers in science classroom, implications are drawn for teachers and teacher educators which may assist in making science classroom more fair gender-wise

The Teacher’s Wellbeing as a Binary Asset When Working with Newly Arrived Immigrant Pupils

The influx of immigrants has led to increased cultural and ethnic diversity in classrooms, presenting unique challenges for teachers who work with pupils with varying linguistic, social, and cultural backgrounds. This paper examines the impact of these challenges on the wellbeing of teachers who work with newly arrived immigrant pupils. It is argued that a lack of knowledge and skills in this area can be educationally, socially, and psychologically demanding for teachers, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Teachers’ wellbeing can be influenced by two main factors: personal and internal factors such as perceptions and ideology and contextual and external factors such as workload, low student motivation, lack of support, conflict with colleagues, and role ambiguity. Despite the importance of teacher wellbeing, it has received less attention than pupils’ wellbeing. Using an ethnographic study that collected data over a school year in two phases, this paper investigates the perceptions and self-constructed pedagogies of the teacher working with newly arrived immigrant pupils. Findings reveal that the teacher’s emphasis on her wellbeing, as well as her pupils’ wellbeing, emerged as the center of her self-constructed approaches. We posit that ‘diversity-related teacher wellbeing’ is crucial in wellbeing pedagogy, given that diversity is one of the main elements in reception classes. For the successful education of newly arrived immigrant pupils, the wellbeing of teachers who work with this group should be prioritized. This paper contributes to the field of wellbeing education by highlighting the importance of teacher wellbeing as a part of wellbeing pedagogy for newcomer pupils. Improving teacher wellbeing may have a positive effect on the wellbeing of newly arrived immigrant pupils, creating a win-win situation. The paper concludes with suggestions for professional support and directions for future research