‘Not (yet) ready for the mainstream’ – newly arrived migrant students in a separate educational program

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe and analyze how school leaders as key actors in policy enactment understand, talk about and act in relation to Newly Arrived Migrant Students (NAMSs) enrolled in a separate Language Introduction Program in Sweden. Drawing on the work of Stephen J. Ball and colleagues, we argue that a particular discursive formation of NAMSs, operating within constrains of various contextual factors, has a decisive impact on how policy as text is interpreted and enacted. Discursively formulating NAMSs as having multiple challenges, beyond Swedish language and insufficient grades, introduces various barriers. Policy flexibility in combination with power disparities thus allows school leaders, framed within legitimacy of 'rational explanations' and 'affirmative intentions', to negotiate policy meanings which are not always working in the students' best interests. Our empirically grounded and theoretically informed discussions showcase why there can be no inclusive education if NAMSs, during a protracted period, are physically, pedagogically and socially separated from mainstream structures. Consequently, and with the support in international research, we call for the overhaul of organizational approaches that allocate Newly Arrived Migrant Students to separate educational forms.

Migrant-Background Student Experiences of Facing and Overcoming Difficulties in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

“…Recent studies have begun to more fully address this diversity and recognise the fact that, regardless of their background, migrant children and youth are first and foremost learners. Regardless of their nationality or backgrounds, they have the right to equal and high-quality education, granted in international conventions and domestic legislation [15] (see also [16,17]).…”

Att undervisa nyanlända ungdomar för att utveckla både ämneskunskaper och språk – en historielärares värderingar om sitt uppdrag

“…Det flerspråkiga skiftet har sammanfallit i tiden med vad som kan kallas ett inkluderande skifte där skolforskare förespråkar inkluderande undervisning som respons på en ökad diversitet som man välkomnar, omfamnar och ser som en tillgång snarare än som ett problem (Ainscow & Messiou 2018;Kugelmass 2006;Tajic & Bunar 2020;Bunar & Juvonen 2021). Detta inkluderande skifte utgår ursprungligen från ett dekolonialt sökande efter epistemisk rättvisa där kunskaper och erfarenheter som eleverna har med sig inte betraktas som brister utan som tillgångar och resurser (Fricker 2007(Fricker , 2017Kerfoot & Simon-Vandenbergen 2015;Masaka 2019).…”

“…Läraren ser alltså och värdesätter elevernas förkunskaper i ämnet vilket kommer till uttryck i de positiva värderingar läraren gör. Ainscow och Messiou (2018) visar på värdet av dialog med elever och att se och erkänna deras förkunskaper och uppfattningar för att främja inkludering men poängterar också, liksom Bunar & Juvonen (2021), de krav detta ställer på ledning och organisation. Att systematiska kartläggningar inte genomförts begränsar möjligheten att inkludera elevers förkunskaper i större utsträckning.…”

Finding ways:

“…In contrast, other results show that NAMS perceive introductory programs as places of educational stagnation, suspension or even regression (Sharif 2017;Nilsson Folke 2018). Prolonged enrolment in introductory programs may therefore lead to frustration and disengagement from studies as well as affect future projections and aspirations (Bunar and Juvonen 2021).…”