Nemendum af erlendum uppruna hefur fjölgað mikið í íslenskum skólum. Það kallar
á að skólar bregðist við námsþörfum þessa nemendahóps. Markmið þessarar greinar er að fjalla um reynslu kennara og foreldra af menntun nemenda af erlendum
uppruna. Í eigindlegri rannsókn voru tekin viðtöl við þrjátíu og átta grunnskólakennara um reynslu þeirra af því að kenna nemendum af erlendum uppruna og helstu
áskoranir sem því fylgja. Einnig voru tekin viðtöl við tíu erlenda foreldra um reynslu
þeirra af íslenskum skólum. Niðurstöður sýna að kennarar telja sig ekki vera nægilega vel studda til þess að skilja og takast á við námsþarfir nemendanna. Upplifun
foreldra litast af hugmyndum þeirra um skólann sem hinn hefðbundna stað fyrir
nám og íslenska skólakerfið ögrar þessum skilningi þeirra. Skortur er á samvinnu og
samskiptum milli forelda og kennara. Í niðurlagi er lagt til að skólar stuðli að markvissari umræðu um þarfir nemenda og væntingar foreldra svo að efla megi og bæta
menntun nemenda af erlendum uppruna.
There is a constantly growing number of students of foreign origin in Icelandic education.
These changes require schools and teachers to respond to the educational needs these
students may have. The results of Icelandic research on multicultural education have, in
the main, suggested that the Icelandic school system is failing in its efforts to educate
children of foreign origin.
Current legislation on schools in Iceland strongly emphasises equality, and schools are
expected to suit their operation as closely as possible to the situation and needs of the
students; thus, in a broad sense, supporting every student’s development, welfare and
education. This emphasis is reiterated, at each stage, in the Icelandic National Curriculum
Guide for Compulsory Schools (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneyti, 2012b) Icelandic
education policy is based on the ideology of the inclusive school which focuses on meeting students’ diverse needs, whether those be academic or social; thus the operation of
the school attempts to ensure that students are given equal or equivalent educational
opportunities
The policy also emphasizes the diversity of the student group, leading to their varied
needs. Despite the attempt to recognize diversity within the Icelandic school system, for
example in legislation and curricula, the multicultural aspect of the education policy has
not received much attention.
In academic discourse on the inclusive school and multicultural education, research, both in Iceland and abroad shows that impediments to real change towards multicultural
practices are not least to be found in attitudes to students who need additional assistance in their studies and in parents’ and teachers’ expectations towards them.
When initiating and developing a multicultural, inclusive school operation, respect for
families and their diverse backgrounds has a crucial role. School staff have to be prepared
to work with parents of varied origin and to demonstrate an understanding of their circumstances and world view. The objective of this article is to examine the experience of
teachers and parents of students with immigrant background with regard to their education. Answers are sought to the following research questions: How do teachers approach
the education of children of foreign origin; and how do parents from abroad perceive and
experience their children’s education?
Focus group interviews were conducted with thirty eight teachers from six primary
schools discussing their experience of teaching students of a foreign background and the
main challenges they faced in this context. Individual interviews were also conducted
with ten parents from abroad in relation to their perception of Icelandic schools and their
children’s education,
The research revealed that the teachers feel they are not sufficiently trained and prepared to tackle the demanding tasks of multicultural teaching. Furthermore, the support
and encouragement needed to stimulate teachers’ interest and ambition to take on this
kind of teaching appeared to be lacking. Due to insufficient communication between
schools and homes, many parents are unfamiliar with the aims and methods of the
Icelandic school system. This has caused foreign parents to distrust the school and prevented them from being able to keep close track of their children’s studies. The parents’
attitudes are coloured by their notions of the school as a traditional venue of study and
the Icelandic school system challenges their traditional ideas in this respect. Cooperation
and communication between parents and teachers is also lacking. The article suggests
that these shortcomings should be dealt with and discussion and dialogue should be
encouraged between the parties concerned, focusing on the students’ needs and parental expectations, with the aim of supporting and improving the education of students of
foreign origin.
