Thrown in at the deep end? Perceptions of burdens, gains, and contributions to the integration of refugee students among teachers with(out) target group-specific professional knowledge
Abstract:In Germany, young migrants and refugees whose German language skills are not sufficient for attending regular classes at school are assigned to so-called “preparation classes”. As the name implies, the main objective of these classes is to teach German language skills and thereby prepare students for regular classes or vocational education and training. Teachers in these classes face special challenges: They have to teach a group of students that is highly heterogeneous in several key respects, they have to de… Show more
“…3 Previous research on newly arrived adolescent students transitioning to upper secondary school Segregated introduction classes as a means of preparing for the mainstream school system have become a conventional way of organizing education for newly arrived migrant students in the Scandinavian countries (NAFO, n.d.;Pérez & Kristjánsdóttir, 2016;Skolverket, 2023) as well as in many other Western countries (e.g., Baker, 2011, p. 217;l'ONICEP, 2023;Spanner & Maué, 2022). This educational model can be both linguistically and pedagogically motivated (Kjelaas, 2023, p. 3), as introduction classes are intended to linguistically and academically prepare students for further education in the regular school system (Hilt, 2016).…”
This study explores the experiences and evolving stance of a newly arrived adolescent student, Hamid, regarding the use of his first language as a tool for learning in the transition from introduction classes to vocational education and training (VET). The article is based on fieldnotes and interviews from a larger linguistic ethnographic fieldwork and draws on a critical sociolinguistic framework. It reveals that while Hamid initially intended to distance himself from his first language upon transitioning to the mainstream school system, it ultimately emerges as an indispensable linguistic capital for navigating the language and literacy practices of VET. Such a finding challenges prevailing educational policy and practice in Norway, which prioritizes linguistic scaffolding based on students’ first language(s) only at the outset of their educational trajectories and assumes its diminishing relevance over time spent in the country. In the analysis, Bourdieu's (1977) concept of capital is employed as a conceptual lens to interpret Hamid’s experiences and reflections. Furthermore, the study considers how scaffolding (Bruner, 1966) and disciplinary literacy interact and influence Hamid’s stance.
“…3 Previous research on newly arrived adolescent students transitioning to upper secondary school Segregated introduction classes as a means of preparing for the mainstream school system have become a conventional way of organizing education for newly arrived migrant students in the Scandinavian countries (NAFO, n.d.;Pérez & Kristjánsdóttir, 2016;Skolverket, 2023) as well as in many other Western countries (e.g., Baker, 2011, p. 217;l'ONICEP, 2023;Spanner & Maué, 2022). This educational model can be both linguistically and pedagogically motivated (Kjelaas, 2023, p. 3), as introduction classes are intended to linguistically and academically prepare students for further education in the regular school system (Hilt, 2016).…”
This study explores the experiences and evolving stance of a newly arrived adolescent student, Hamid, regarding the use of his first language as a tool for learning in the transition from introduction classes to vocational education and training (VET). The article is based on fieldnotes and interviews from a larger linguistic ethnographic fieldwork and draws on a critical sociolinguistic framework. It reveals that while Hamid initially intended to distance himself from his first language upon transitioning to the mainstream school system, it ultimately emerges as an indispensable linguistic capital for navigating the language and literacy practices of VET. Such a finding challenges prevailing educational policy and practice in Norway, which prioritizes linguistic scaffolding based on students’ first language(s) only at the outset of their educational trajectories and assumes its diminishing relevance over time spent in the country. In the analysis, Bourdieu's (1977) concept of capital is employed as a conceptual lens to interpret Hamid’s experiences and reflections. Furthermore, the study considers how scaffolding (Bruner, 1966) and disciplinary literacy interact and influence Hamid’s stance.
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