Communication and Group Work in the Multicultural Classroom: Immigrant Students’ Experiences

Artem Ingmar Benediktsson,Hanna Ragnarsdottir

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.8.2.453

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">The paper is part of the qualitative research project Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland, conducted in Iceland’s three biggest universities. The main goal of the paper is to investigate immigrant students’ experiences of communication with teachers during the learning process and their perspectives on multicultural group work. Furthermore, the paper explores immigrant students’ experiences of learner-centred approach and culturally responsive teaching methods applied by some teachers. The data was collected through focus group interviews and qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews with immigrant students. The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach. Additionally, the theoretical framework includes multicultural education theory, which puts an emphasis on applying culturally responsive teaching methods in classrooms with diverse student populations. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants’ experiences of communication with teachers and peers were mostly positive. However, culturally responsive teaching is still a rare phenomenon in Icelandic universities. When it comes to the participants’ perspectives on group work, the experiences ranged from being highly positive to negative.</p>

Highlights

In the era of globalisation, Icelandic society is developing very fast and every year Iceland receives immigrants from all different corners of the world
The theoretical framework is mainly based on the constructivist theory, which emphasises the importance of communication and the learner-centred approach
The analysis of the findings shows that many participants have had similar experiences of the learning process, which may indicate some common tendencies and challenges that other students with similar characteristics face during their studies

Summary

Introduction

In the era of globalisation, Icelandic society is developing very fast and every year Iceland receives immigrants from all different corners of the world. In 2017, the percentage of residents of foreign background, including first- and secondgeneration immigrants, living in Iceland was 18.8% (Statistics Iceland, 2017). According to Statistics Iceland, the term first generation immigrant is used to describe a person born abroad with both parents and grandparents born abroad (Statistics Iceland, 2017). With the increasing percentage of immigrants in the country, the number of immigrant students pursuing higher education is constantly growing (Statistics Iceland, 2018). The term immigrant student is applied in this research study to first generation immigrants pursuing tertiary studies in Iceland. The presented paper is based on the results from the first, extensive qualitative research project titled Educational Aspirations, Opportunities and Challenges for Immigrants in University Education in Iceland conducted from 6 to 8 in Iceland’s three biggest universities.

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Conclusion