LearningSpacesforInclusionandSocialJustice:SuccessStoriesfromImmigrantStudentsandSchoolCommunitiesinFourNordicCountriesProjectProjectleader:HannaRagnarsdóttirUniversityofIceland,SchoolofEducationEducationforTomorrowNordForskKick-offConferenceJune2013
BackgroundJustificationforproject:MismatchbetweensharedfundamentalvaluesintheNordiccountries,suchasdemocracy,socialjusticeandinclusionwhicharefrequentlystatedineducationalpolicydocumentsandtherealityinmanyschoolsinthesecountries.Bymappingcurrentsituationsintherespectiveparticipatingcountries,focusingonthesuccessofindividualimmigrantstudentscontrarytoexpectationsandgoodpracticesinschoolswearebetterequippedtolaydownaroadmapforschoolinginoursocietiesinthe21stcentury.Whilefindingsofresearchinallourcountrieshasrevealedthemarginalisationofstudentswithanimmigrantbackground,researchhasalsoshownthattherearesomeexamplesoftheopposite,i.e.individualstudentsandparticularschoolshavesucceededinspiteofwhatcouldbeexpected.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20132
ParticipantsUniversities:–UniversityofIceland,–UniversityofHelsinki,–UniversityofGothenburg,–HedmarkUniversityCollege.13researchers,7womenand6men.Steeringgroup:Countryleaders;HannaRagnarsdóttir,FredDervin,AnetteHellman,LarsAndersKulbrandstad.Researchgroupsinallcountries.Doctoralandmastersstudents.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20133
AimsandobjectivesMainobjective:Todrawlessonsfromsuccessstoriesofindividualimmigrantstudentandwholeschoolcommunitiesatdifferentlevelsthathavesucceededindevelopinglearningcontextsthatareequitableandsociallyjust,contrarytoexpectationsbasedonresearchfindings.Twomainaimsofthestudyareto–understandandlearnfromtheexperiencesofimmigrantstudentswhohavesucceededacademicallyandsocially–exploreandunderstandhowsocialjusticeisimplementedinequitableandsuccessfuldiverseNordicschoolcontextsandotherlearningspaces.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20134
SubthemesandresearchareasTheprojectintegratesfoursubthemesandmainresearchareasthatareclearlyinterrelatedandwillbeexploredintheproject:A.Students:Experiencesandaspirationsofimmigrantstudents.B.Teachersprofessionaldevelopment,pedagogyandteachingpractices:Teachersasagentsandfacilitatorsofinclusion.C.Leadership,collaborationandschoolcultures:Promotionofdemocraticparticipationandcollaborationofstudents,teachers,parents.D.Policiesandcurricula:Maincriteriarelatingtoequity,inclusionandsocialjusticeineducationalpolicyandnationalcurriculumguidelinesandschoolpolicyandcurricula.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20135
TheoreticalbackgroundThefieldofcriticalmulticulturalismhasfocusedonmanychallengesinmodernsocieties,suchasquestionsofculturalrightsofminoritygroups,andthateducationhasdevelopedinrelationtothedefinedneedsofaparticularmajorityormajorities(May,2010;Parekh,2006)andisthereforeanimportanttheoreticalfocusintheproposedproject.Othertheoreticalapproachesrelatedtoourvariousdisciplineswillalsobeapplied.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20136
MethodMixedmethodswillbeappliedintheproposedresearchprojectandeachcountryresearchgroupwillcollectdataaccordingtoasimilarresearchmodel.Researchmodelforeachofthefourcountries:Schools.Casestudieswillbeconductedinsixschools(2preschools,2primaryand2secondaryschools)inurbanandruralcontextsineachofthefourNordiccountries(atotalof24schools).Samplingispurposiveinthatallschoolshavesucceededinimplementingsocialjusticeandcreatinginclusivelearningspacesforallstudents.Forselectingtheschools,indicatorssuchasaveragegradesandtestscoresdropoutrateswillbeused,aswellasevaluationandjudgementofschoolauthorities.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20137
MilestonesanddeliverablesYEAR2013:Preparationperiod,organizingandplanningresearch.Choosingandgettingaccesstotheresearchsettingsandchoosingparticipants,datacollectinginallcountries,preliminaryanalysis,literaturereview.YEAR2014:Analysis,literaturereview,writinguparticlesandbookchapters,comparisonoffindingsacrosscountries.YEAR2015:Finalanalysis,comparisonandwritingoffindingsacrosscountries,pullingtheprojecttogether,openfinalconferenceandonlinedialogue.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20138
ManagementProjectleader.Steeringgroupofoneresearchleaderfromeachcountry.Countryresearchgroups.Regularmeetingsofsteeringgroup,countryresearchgroupsandallresearchersincludingstudents.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June20139
ExpectedresultsandpotentialimpactThedatacollectedandthefindingsfromtheproposedresearchwillshedlightonamyriadofgoodpracticesaccordingtosociallyandacademicallysuccessfulimmigrantstudents,asreportedbyteachers,principalsandparentsandasobservedinschoolcommunities.Importantcontributiontoeducationalpolicy,schoolreformandteachereducation,thusbenefittingallparticipantsintheresearch.ProvidingdirectiononhowtoagreaterextentthanbeforedeveloplearningspacesforinclusionandsocialjusticeintheNordiccountriesandelsewhere..HannaRagnarsdóttir17June
PlansfordisseminationandimplementationoftheprojectresultsPresentationsininternationalandnationalconferences.Publicationsininternational,Nordicandnationaljournals.Annualconferencesinvitingpolicymakersandschoolauthoritesineachcountry.FinalopenconferenceinOtheractivities:–Broadcastevent–policymakersandschoolauthorities–Linkingprincipals,teachers,studentsandparentsinonlinemeetings–CooperationwithandbetweenschoolsinthefourcountriesHannaRagnarsdóttir17June
ConcludingremarksOuraimistogainnewknowledgeonhowtobetterdealwiththeculturalandlinguisticdiversityinoursocietiesandeducationalinstitutionsandhopefullyviathisNordiccooperationtoinfluencehowpolicymakersandinstitutionalleaders,teachereducators,teachersandstudentsviewtheculturalandlinguisticdiversitywithintheirnationalborders.TheresearchprojectwillexpandthefieldofresearchontheimplementationofsocialjusticeinculturallydiverseNordicschoolcontexts.HannaRagnarsdóttir17June