The call of ordinariness: peer interaction and superdiversity within the civil sphere

Abstract

Previous research conducted in Swedish schools and beyond has shown how newly arrived migrant students are excluded by peers from the majority population and by longer-term residents. The novelty of the present article is its focus on the opposite: how peer interaction between newly arrived and other students arises in superdiverse school settings and what this interaction means for newly arrived migrant students. A multidimensional theoretical perspective with a focus on social interaction within school is utilized to illuminate the drama of social life. Ideals of the civil sphere, superdiversity, habitus and conviviality are combined, the goal being to create links between macro- and micro-levels. Peer interaction is analyzed as meaningful per se, rather than as an exchange value. This is valuable from a subjective perspective in relation to the notion that being ordinary is a key to belonging. The analysis shows the lived interconnectedness between ideals, institutions, practices, and individuals’ life experiences. The data are drawn from ethnographic fieldwork undertaken during one academic year in two middle schools [högstadiet] and 42 interviews with newly arrived migrant students and school staff in Sweden.

Peer Relationships at School

“…So I'd say generally, as the girls get older, it's proving to be a bit more difficult.' This confirms research which suggests that even in the context of superdiversity, gender remains a symbolic boundary that is rarely transcended (Tajic and Lund, 2022). Talking about the activities he did at school, Babak, who had recently arrived as a refugee from the Middle East, said, "Some friends, we can play games, football games".…”

“…Neal, Vincent, and Iqbal (2016) posit that schools are not only micro-public sites but are also embedded in wider social networks. According to Tajic and Lund (2022), education also gives us clues as to how modes of inclusion and exclusion play out against the backdrop of the 'drama' of the civil sphere. They emphasize education's civil qualities, suggesting that schools can provide space for young people from diverse migration backgrounds to share in the common experience of 'being human'.…”