The Professional Discretion of Teachers in dealing with Ethnic Pluralism

Brit Synnøve Steinsvik - Ph.D. Fellow

Advisor:

Professor Joron Pihl

Project period:

2006-2010

The subject of this project is the professional discretion teachers exert in dealing with ethnic pluralism in schools. How is this discretion practised when minority pupils` need for education should be assessed? What are the cognitive, cultural and ethical conditions that form the basis of this professional discretion? And how is it practised in the light of the social mandate upheld by the educational institutions? What are the consequences for the situation of the minority pupils?

Theory about professionalism and multucultural pedagogical theory about teaching various ethnic groups is the theoretical basis of this project. The project is also a continuation of the issues I focused on in my thesis (“hovedfagsoppgave”), where I asked for the reasons why minority children with seemingly good abilities were subject to psychiatric treatment and received more special education than should be expected.

International studies indicate that these pupils seem to be overrepresented in special classes and schools in the western world. Norwegian studies also show that such they perform weaker and are subjected to more special treatment than pupils of ethnic Norwegian origin.

My project is connected to a study (Pihl 2005) which demonstrates a system deficiency in the way minority pupils are professionally assessed by “PP-tjenesten”. Pihl maintains that the pupils are tested only from a monocultural view (understanding). Contrary to the authorities`intention, which is integration and equality, minority pupils are systematically segregated and marginalized in an educational setting.

Pupils are usually reported to “PP-tjenesten” because teachers assess their need for further education, as shown in pedagogical reports. These reports constitute the main element in my empirical material, and they are the key documents in my project. Through discourse analyses of  these reports I will focus on how teachers use their knowledge and discretion in assessing the need minority pupils have for further education. Is the professional discretion of the teachers based on Norwegian values and knowledge and an ethnical majority perspective, or is it founded on bilingualism and cultural pluralism? How is the ethnical relation between teacher and pupil manifested and how does the teacher practise his relative autonomy from a perspective of power?

Brit Steinsvik

Oslo, 2.4.2006