A Nordic study on why some children of foreign origin adjust better than others in their new home, both socially and in their studies, is currently underway. The focus is on their success at three educational levels: kindergarten, elementary and secondary school, in four countries: Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
“We want to learn from the children who are successful and from their school environment, rather than focusing solely on the disadvantages,” says Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, Professor of Multicultural Studies, who leads the study for Iceland.
Issues concerning children and adults of foreign origin in schools and Icelandic society have been important to Ragnarsdóttir for years, and most of her research focuses on different groups of immigrants.
“I have done this with the aim of improving the school environment for these groups, as well as their social standing. From a wider perspective, my research is about human rights and equality,” says Ragnarsdóttir.
The idea for the new study was born during discussions in a Nordic research group interested in examining success instead of marginalisation for students of foreign origin in the Nordic educational system, as well as elsewhere.
The study focuses on four fields according to Ragnarsdóttir: firstly on the experience and ambition of students of foreign origin; secondly on the development of the professionalism of both teachers and teaching methods; thirdly on leadership, collaboration and school culture; and lastly on educational and school policies and curricula.
“Even though there are many comparable results between the countries they also shed light on how different the education systems are,” says Ragnarsdóttir, adding that emphasis was placed on creating a welcoming educational environment in the participating schools.
“There is a belief and understanding in the schools that linguistic diversity amongst the students is an asset that needs to be nurtured. Some places, however, lack a consensus that all teachers are responsible for immigrant education.” Ragnarsdóttir says that the results will become a guiding light in reforming both teaching and school work in general, and therefore the study is an important contribution to educational policies and teacher education.
“The results can thus influence both inclusive education and social justice in the Nordic countries, as well as creating a broad knowledge base and data for international comparison.”
