Non-challenging education and teacher control as factors for marginalization of students in diverse settings

Åsa Wedin

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2015) IEJEE

Non-challenging education and teacher control as factors for marginalization of students in diverse settings

Åsa Wedin

Published August 21, 2017 | Pages: 169-188 | Views: 196

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Abstract

This article discusses teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students in poor settings and the effect these attitudes have on organization of education on classroom level. It draws on results from two ethnographic studies where some primary school classes in Sweden were followed with participant observation and interviews as main research methods. The article focuses on classroom activities and teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students and students with low socio-economic status. In the article is argued for the importance of presenting students in poor settings with demanding tasks and challenging education. In these cases, intellectually undemanding tasks in combination with little room for students’ own initiatives resulted in low enthusiasm among students regarding schoolwork and accordingly low learning, while classroom work that demanded active involvement by students in combination with high level of students’ influence on what took place in classrooms resulted in high level of students’ engagement and high outcome.

<p>This article discusses teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students in poor settings and the effect these attitudes have on organization of education on classroom level. It draws on results from two ethnographic studies where some primary school classes in Sweden were followed with participant observation and interviews as main research methods. The article focuses on classroom activities and teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant students and students with low socio-economic status. In the article is argued for the importance of presenting students in poor settings with demanding tasks and challenging education. In these cases, intellectually undemanding tasks in combination with little room for students’ own initiatives resulted in low enthusiasm among students regarding schoolwork and accordingly low learning, while classroom work that demanded active involvement by students in combination with high level of students’ influence on what took place in classrooms resulted in high level of students’ engagement and high outcome.</p>

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Keywords

Challenging education, Immigrant students, Diverse settings, Teacher attitudes, Deficiencies

Affiliations

Åsa Wedin

Dalarna University, Sweden

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How to Cite

Wedin, Åsa. (2017). Non-challenging education and teacher control as factors for marginalization of students in diverse settings. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 7(2), 169–188. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/73