Lög, stefna og úrræði í málefnum háskólanema af erlendum uppruna í þremur háskólum á Íslandi

Abstract

Fjölgun innflytjenda í háskólum á Íslandi kallar á viðbrögð háskólayfirvalda, kennara og háskólasamfélagsins. Íslenskar og erlendar rannsóknir sýna að menntastofnanir, einkum á háskólastigi, gegna mikilvægu hlutverki við að tryggja félagslegt jafnrétti, með stefnu sinni og meðal annars með því að beita kennsluaðferðum sem henta fjölbreyttum nemendahópum og bjóða þeim stuðning og ráðgjöf (Anderson, 2008; Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, 2010). Markmið greinarinnar er að að fjalla um niðurstöður skjalagreiningar (e. document analysis) á reglugerðum og stefnu í málefnum háskólanema af erlendum uppruna á Íslandi og úrræðum sem standa þeim til boða í íslenskum háskólum. Fræðilegur grunnur verkefnisins er í gagnrýnum fjölmenningarfræðum þar sem áhersla er á réttindi minnihlutahópa í samfélögum og menntun (Parekh, 2006). Eigindlegum aðferðum var beitt og gagnaöflun fólst í söfnun og skjalagreiningu opinberra skriflegra gagna úr þremur stærstu háskólum á Íslandi ásamt því að skoða lagaramma um íslenska háskóla og stefnu stjórnvalda Íslands í aðlögun innflytjenda (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). Niðurstöður benda til þess að hvorki háskólarnir þrír né stjórnvöld hafi skýra stefnu í málefnum háskólanema af erlendum uppruna. Ekki er gerður greinarmunur á innflytjendum og skiptinemum í stefnu háskólanna þriggja og upplýsingar um flest úrræði háskólanna á vefsíðum og í stefnu þeirra eru sniðnar að þörfum skiptinema frekar en innflytjenda.

The increased number of immigrants in universities in Iceland calls for a response from university authorities, teachers and campus communities. This response needs to be cognizant of various factors, such as potential language difficulties, cultural precepts and social marginalization. Also, administrative infrastructures need to be available to respond constructively and professionally, which calls for analysis of policy and administrative structures (Anderson, 2008; Gundara, 2000; Rizvi & Lingard, 2010). Access to education for immigrants is crucial in counteracting their marginalization and exclusion and encouraging their active participation in society. International and Icelandic studies show that education, particularly at tertiary level, plays an important role in ensuring societal equality. This role includes numerous important factors, ranging from awareness and knowledge of suitable teaching methods for diverse student populations to an understanding of the need for individualized support and counselling for students (Anderson, 2008; Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, 2010; Lillie, 2013; Sutherland, Claxton & Pollard, 2003). The aim of the article is to analyse regulatory policies regarding immigrant students and the services and initiatives available to them in Icelandic universities. The theoretical background of the project included critical multicultural studies focusing on the analyses of the position of minority groups in societies from a critical perspective on these societies and their educational systems (Parekh, 2006). According to Parekh (2006), multicultural societies need to find their balance and ensure equal opportunities and equal access without losing coherence and the same applies to education systems in these societies. This is possible through active communication and agreement between groups and individuals. Data were collected from official, governmental documents, including the Act on Public Higher Education Institutions no. 85/2008 (Lög um opinbera háskóla nr 85/2008), the Act on Higher Education Institutions no. 63/2006 (Lög um háskóla nr. 63/2006), as well as general policies, equality policies, other written information published and/or available online from the three largest universities in Iceland, University of Iceland, Reykjavik University and University of Akureyri (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). Thematic analysis was used to synthesize main findings from the study (Bowen, 2009; Braun & Clarke, 2013). Findings suggest that while the regulations, policies and other official documents of the three universities in Iceland reveal an awareness of the diversification of their student populations and some articulate the universities’ responsibility in reaching out to immigrant populations, there is little documentation and evaluation available on how these universities are addressing student diversity in practice. Such information would be helpful in the development of policies, courses and pedagogies that respond to the needs of immigrant students (Gray, Rolph & Melamid, 1996). There is comprehensive information on student counselling available, but issues concerning immigrant students, including potential language difficulties, cultural differences, different learning and communication methods, as well as use of previous knowledge and experiences are not covered (Daddona, 2011; Stebleton & Soria, 2012). There is no clear distinction between immigrant student and exchange student populations in the policies and rhetoric in the documents and other written information available from the universities’ websites. Some forms of social support, along with mentoring, address exchange students according to the information available, although previous studies emphasise the importance of counselling and mentoring in fostering immigrant students’ social and academic inclusion and improving their achievement (Gloria & Kurpius, 2001; Sinacore, Park-Saltzman, Mikhail & Wada, 2011). However, there are some indicators in the analysed data that a growing discourse on multiculturalism and societal equality now includes issues of nationality, mother tongues and ethnicity, thus replacing an earlier focus on gender.