Third space epistemologies: Ethnicity and belonging in an ‘immigrant’-dominated upper secondary school in Norway

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Thomas ◽  
Sofie Haug Changezi ◽  
Martin Enstad
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Bomström Aho

I föreliggande artikel studeras nyanlända elevers upplevelser av att vara elever på Språkintroduktion. Programmet är ett av fem introduktionsprogram i gymnasieskolan och tar emot nyanlända elever från 16 till 19 år. Eleverna placeras på Språkintroduktion eftersom de nyligen har kommit till Sverige och för att de ännu inte uppnått tillräckliga kunskaper i det svenska språket. I denna intervjustudie bidrar Homi Bhabhas teori om mellanrummet till en förståelse för hur erfarenheter av Språkintroduktion kan upplevas. Resultatet visar att elevgrupperna på Språkintroduktion är heterogena eftersom eleverna har olika erfarenheter av skola och arbete. Tre teman blir synliga i resultatet: elever med andra kunskaper och erfarenheter, elevidentiteter som särskilt framträder och det svenska språket som barriär. Resultaten visar att förvärvandet av det svenska språket för varje elev blir ett mål att nå samtidigt som det utgör ett hinder. Språket blir viktigt eftersom eleverna är beroende av det för att lyckas såväl i skolan som i samhällslivet. Likaså blir synliggörandet av elevers tidigare erfarenheter och kunskaper betydelsefullt eftersom det kan komma att påverka deras identitetsuppfattning. Nyckelord: språkintroduktion; nyanlända elever; mellanrum; elevidentitet Newly arrived upper secondary school students – Student identities and language barriers AbsractThis study investigates newly arrived students’ experiences of being students at Language Introduction in Sweden. The program is one of five introductory programs in Swedish upper secondary school and admits newly arrived students from the ages of 16 to 19 years old. Students are placed at Language introduction because they have recently arrived in Sweden and since they have not yet gained enough knowledge of the Swedish language. In this interview study, Homi Bhabha’s theory of the third space contributes to an understanding of how experiences from Language introduction can be perceived. The results show that student groups at Language introduction are heterogeneous as students have diverse experiences of school and work. Three themes appear in the results: students with other kinds of knowledge and experiences, student identities in transformation, the Swedish language as an obstacle and as goal. The results show that the acquisition of the Swedish language becomes to each student a goal to reach and at the same time a hindrance. The language becomes important because the students depend on it in order to be successful in school as well as in life in society. Likewise, making the students’ past experiences and knowledge visible, becomes important as it may affect their perception of identity. Keywords: språkintroduktion; nyanlända elever; mellanrum; elevidentitet


Author(s):  
Åsa Wedin

The aim of this paper is to trace students’ multilingualism and agency in the schoolscape of the Language Introduction Programme (LIP) in one Swedish upper secondary school. Through linguistic schoolscaping, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of LIP. The schoolscape is analysed as reconstructions of photographs of displayed images, objects, symbols, and written language on walls and elsewhere in the school area. The photographs are analysed in terms of how they orient to time, place, and space; control behaviour; and shape discourses. Through the analysis, discourses of an organized, inclusive, and tolerant society appear, that simultaneously shape a discourse of behaviour: in this school (and in Sweden) we (want to) follow (the) rules. Students’ multilingualism is nearly absent in the schoolscape, as is their agency. In line with Bhabha’s concept third space, the schoolscape may be understood as a space for Swedishness, where inclusion demands mastery of Swedish. The in-betweenness of the LIP, as a transitional programme, appears as a space to escape otherness by changing language, which is the requirement for inclusion. Thus, in this case, the signage displayed in the schoolscape does not open up spaces for identity development related to multilingualism or multiculturalism. Opening space for students as agents in the schoolscape and making their diverse linguistic resources visible would also open up a third space for negotiation of norms, through contestation, resistance, and manifestation. Thus students’ development of multiple identities would be enabled and their opportunities to be (co-)creators of their own futures widened.


Author(s):  
Anna-Maria Stenseth ◽  
Unn-Doris K. Bæck

AbstractThis study explores the influence of geographical location on young pupils’ educational orientations and their transition from lower to upper secondary school; it pays particular attention to the voices of male youths from a rural area. More specifically, it investigates the interplay between gender and geographical contexts and the significance of these factors in understanding the processes associated with educational orientations. Margaret Archer’s framework is used to analyse how pupils’ agency is constrained and/or enabled by objective structures. The data material consists of qualitative interviews with 18 pupils transitioning from lower to upper secondary school in Norway. Each of the pupils was interviewed twice: first when they were in their last year of lower secondary education, and then during their first year of upper secondary education. The findings show that pupils consider geographical locations when making decisions about further education and work. In addition, they believe that education beyond compulsory schooling benefits their life in the rural areas. However, unlike their urban counterparts, pupils from rural areas appear to have a more constraining transition to upper secondary education. Through the analyses in this article, it becomes clear that both geographical location and gender are key factors for understanding processes connected to education.


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