Niðurstöður rannsókna benda til þess að vina- og félagatengsl grunnskólabarna og
unglinga af erlendum uppruna séu brothættari en tengsl sem íslenskir félagar þeirra
njóta. Á leikskólastiginu skortir sambærilegar rannsóknir en þar er viðurkennt að
samskipti barna og frjáls leikur sé einn þýðingarmesti þáttur námsins. Markmið
eigindlegrar rannsóknar sem hér er kynnt er að skyggnast í samskipti, leik og
vinatengsl leikskólabarna af erlendum uppruna. Rannsóknin var gerð í leikskóla
í sjávarbyggð. Alls tóku 21 barn af einni leikskóladeild þátt í rannsókninni en
lykilþátttakendur voru fjögur 5-6 ára gömul börn, tvær stúlkur og tveir drengir.
Tvö þeirra áttu tælenska foreldra og tvö áttu pólska foreldra. Gögnum var safnað
með hópviðtölum, paraviðtölum og einstaklingsviðtölum, myndbandsupptökum og
vettvangsathugunum. Að auki teiknuðu börnin myndir af vinum sínum og tóku
ljósmyndir í leikskólastarfinu. Félagsleg staða barnanna fjögurra reyndist viðkvæm en
þó nutu þau flest gagnkvæmrar vináttu. Takmörkuð færni í íslensku og fá tækifæri
til samskipta utan leikskóla höfðu hamlandi áhrif á félagsleg tengsl þeirra innan
barnahópsins og fram komu dæmi um höfnun og útilokun. Niðurstöður benda til að
stuðningur leikskólakennara í samskiptum þeirra við önnur börn hefði getað tryggt
betur virka þátttöku þeirra í skólastarfinu. Í þessu skyni er mikilvægt að þekkja
aðferðir barnanna til að komast inn í leik og stofna til kynna. Skerpa mætti jafnframt
hlutverk skólans og kennara við að styðja og leiðbeina foreldrum barna af erlendum
uppruna og hvetja þannig til aukinna tengsla við önnur börn í leikskólanum.
Markmiðum skóla án aðgreiningar verður aðeins náð ef öll börn hafa jafnan aðgang
að lærdómsferli leikskólans.
Icelandic studies focusing on foreign-origin compulsory school children and
adolescents have shown that they face challenging peer relations. They perceive their
classmates as less supportive than Icelandic adolescents do (Eyrún María Rúnarsdóttir
& Rúnar Vilhjálmsson, 2015), they have fewer friends, are teased, feel excluded
(Hrefna Guðmundsdóttir & Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, 2013), and are more exposed to
bullying (Þóroddur Bjarnason, 2006). According to Statistics Iceland 12% of preschool children are currently of foreign-origin (Hagstofa Íslands, 2018), but comparable
studies investigating their social relations in the pre-school are not available. Available
studies, however, suggest that lack of Icelandic language skills and conflicts between
home-culture and school-culture limit the participation of foreign-origin pre-school
children in the education practices taking place through free play, social interactions,
and friendship relations (Brooker, 2002; Hanna Ragnarsdóttir, 2002).
Respecting and meeting the needs of all children irrespective of their origin is
emphasized at all school levels in line with the inclusive education policy of the
Icelandic school system. Furthermore, in the National Curriculum Guide for Preschools (Mennta- og menningarmálaráðuneytið, 2011) social interactions and free
play are presented as vital parts of pre-school children’s education. Also, to promote
social skills and competences, developing understanding, respect and consideration
for others.
In this paper, a study conducted in pre-school with 5-6-year-old children of foreignorigin is presented. Providing insight into how foreign-origin children establish
and navigate friendships, peer relations, and social interactions is a valuable tool in
developing multicultural teaching and proper support.
The aim of this qualitative research is to explore the social relations, play, and
friendships of pre-school children of foreign-origin. The research questions are: How
do children of foreign-origin experience social relations and friendships with their
peers? How are these relationships demonstrated in everyday circumstances in the
school? What encourages positive relations and social interactions of foreign-origin
children with peers and what may deter such relations? The research took place in one
department of a pre-school in a small town in the countryside. In total, 21 children
participated in the study, the key participants being four 5-6-year-old foreign-origin
children, two girls and two boys. Two had parents born in Thailand and two had
parents born in Poland. Varied and child-friendly methods were used to collect
data: group interviews, paired interviews, individual interviews, videos and field
observations. The children took photographs in the pre-school and drew pictures
of their friends. A sociogram was created according to friend nominations and the
key participants created their friend web. Thematic data analysis revealed three main
themes: friendship and social relations, interests, play and social interaction, and
finally, language, home culture and school culture.
Results indicate that while the key participant children enjoyed reciprocal friendships
or displayed interest in having many friends, their social relations with peers and
friends were delicate. Social interactions with friends and peers were important to
them but they had different levels of skills establishing relations and entering their
peers’ free play. In the group of four we found a likeable, friendly and sociable child, a
withdrawn child that seemed to enjoy having just one good friend, a child that did not
always read the situation and got into conflicts with other children and a child that
preferred playing with other children, but they did not always welcome her. All four
children preferred play that did not require much verbal communication and their
lack of Icelandic language skills restricted them, for example when needing to make
a point and stand their ground in conflicts with peers. Furthermore, there were signs
of rejection towards these children. Hierarchy structures and pecking order in social
interactions among the children did not favor the foreign-origin children. Some of
the children did not have the opportunity to meet friends from school after school
hours. It is our conclusion that the four children would have benefitted from better
support from their pre-school teachers to ensure their active participation in school
activities requiring social interactions. In this regard, it is important to understand
which methods foreign-origin children deploy to access play and establish relations.
Furthermore, we argue that the pre-school should provide support and guidance to
parents to encourage relationship building. Implementing the principles of inclusive
education requires special effort to ensure equal access of all children to the learning
processes.
