Diversity in Estonian and Swedish primary schools, a pilot study

Straarup, Jørgen

2017

In primary schools around the Baltic Sea, various forms of diversity are visible. In Estonia, one might expect the Russian-speaking population to be a major source of diversity, but since Estonian and Russian speaking students seldom share classroom, the experience of diversity is found in arenas other than primary school. In Finland, the beginnings of ethnic diversity is perceptible due to increasing immigration. In Sweden, with its longer immigration history, ethnic diversity is tangible in almost every classroom in primary schools.

The new modes of variation among students, cultural and religious diversity, present a new task for teachers, administrators and headteachers alike, ensuring that the countries’ guidelines for addressing diversity are respected and implemented in the everyday life of schools and students. The differences between the countries around the Baltic Sea notwithstanding, the presence of cultural and religious diversity in a school built on aspirations to tackle social inequality and difference, but not dealing with national, cultural and religious differences, is a new challenge for the school systems.

To describe the variation between the three countries, as well as parts of the regional variation within the countries, decisions for a pilot study were taken.

Huddinge : Södertörns högskola, 2017. s. 63.

ISBN

Working Paper, 1404-1480; 2017:1

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