Vietnamese and Syrian Refugees in Iceland: Acculturation and integration in society and schools, 1979-2016

Studies of immigrant students in upper secondary school in Iceland often highlight low attendance rates and early school departure. This paper interrogates this view through an exploration of the perspectives of 13 students of Vietnamese heritage in two upper secondary schools. The paper mobilizes critical multiculturalism which sees education as inclusive, insisting on valuing diversity and equal opportunity regardless of gender, religion, belief, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, disability, or other status (Banks, 2007b). Analysis of interviews show 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 which could have provided advantages in the learning process and contributed to student motivation and attainment… to read more download here