Students of Vietnamese Heritage

Abstract

Studies of immigrant students in upper secondary school in Iceland often highlight low attendance rates and early school departure. This article interrogates this view through an exploration of the perspectives of 13 students of Vietnamese heritage in two upper secondary schools. The article mobilizes multicultural education which sees education as inclusive, insisting on valuing diversity and equal opportunity regardless of gender, religion, belief, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, disability, or other statuses. Analysis of interviews shows that students, despite their positive feelings towards their teachers and their belief that their teachers were trying to do their best, understood that they were perceived to be deficient due to their lack of Icelandic language proficiency. Teachers' perceptions were thus limited, and they overlooked the students' academic and heritage resources that could have provided advantages in the learning process and contributed to student motivation and attainment.