Nordic Schools Risk Losing Migrant Parents Over Narrow Family Ideals
Teachers in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden unconsciously exclude migrant families by imposing rigid expectations about what makes a 'proper' parent, according to new research. The approach undermines student wellbeing and threatens school engagement—forcing educators to rethink collaboration strategies or face demographic challenges.
Originaltitel: "If we don't adapt, we lose some parents". Collaborations with migrant families in the context of student wellbeing
<p>Based on focus group discussions with secondary school teachers in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, we investigated teachers' views on home-school collaborations with migrant families in the context of student wellbeing. We asked 1) what roles and strategies constituted home-school collaborations in teachers' views, 2) what norms of belonging characterized teachers' perceptions on collaborations; and, 3) to what extent teachers' perceptions of home-school collaborations reflected equity. The findings revealed two major themes: seeing parents in paradoxical roles and attempting to collaborate in a context of constraints. These themes were often underpinned by teachers' perceived 'ideals' on the educational, cultural-linguistic, familial and psychosocial characteristics of a 'family' and a 'parent'. These assemblages seemed to set belonging for migrant families on condition of meeting teacher-perceived ideals, and pointed to the necessity to enable plural belonging to a collaborative school community that fosters wellbeing.</p>