In the twenty-first century, Nordic countries have experienced increasing levels of migration, which directly impacts on schools. Newcomers are often directly placed in mainstream classrooms, meaning that they spend most of their school time with mainstream teachers. The ability of teachers in Nordic countries to provide all students, including newcomers, with equal and inclusive education of high quality constitutes the ultimate test of the "Nordic model" of education according to Lundahl (2016, p. 10). A salient measure in this test is teacher education. Studies investigating the ways in which different forms of teacher education address linguistic diversity in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Sweden have been complied in an edited volume (Iversen, Reath Warren & Straszer (Eds), under review). The studies include analyses of teacher education policy documents and syllabi, policy enactment in classroom observations and studies of teacher educators', pre-service and in-service teachers' beliefs and knowledge. In this presentation an editorial perspective on these studies will be offered, based on extensive reading of the contributions and investigation of salient themes across the nine chapters.
Three themes were identified. Firstly, there is a need for teacher educators to make clearer connections between theory and practice. While pre- and in-service teachers agree that linguistic diversity is a fact in their classrooms, they also indicate a lack of preparedness, pedagogical knowledge and skills for working with students from linguistically diverse backgrounds. The second theme identified is the need for all teacher educators to be involved in preparing their students for working with linguistically diverse students, and not only teacher educators working with language subjects. The third theme is the tension that exists concerning how to incorporate knowledge of and methods for working with linguistically diverse students into teacher education. While some universities advocate for one compulsory course for all pre-service teachers, others argue for a multilingual strand running through all courses.
According to the Nordic model described by Lundahl (2016), all students, regardless of their linguistic background, are entitled to "inclusive, equal education and a fair chance to start a new life" (Lundahl, 2016, p.10). These studies of teacher education in a Nordic context indicate that providing pre- and in-service teachers with the knowledge and tools to do this presents challenges, but also that policies and theoretical knowledge do exist. Discussion and debate arising from the studies' results as well as further studies in different contexts can lead to development of approaches which better prepare teachers for working with students with linguistically diverse backgrounds.
References
Iversen, J., Reath Warren, A., & Straszer, B. (Eds.)(under review). Teacher education for working in linguistically diverse classrooms: Nordic perspectives. Language Science Press.
Lundahl, L. (2016). Equality, inclusion and marketization of Nordic education: Introductory notes. Research in Comparative and International Education, 11(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499916631059
