The status of students after immigrating into a new cultural society: Slovenia primary schools case studies

In the last fifteen years, there has been an increased influx of immigrants to Slovenia and thus an increased number of immigrant pupils enrolling in primary school. As a signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Slovenia must provide them with primary education since they have the right to enroll under the same conditions as children of Slovenian citizens. This right, however, is not yet fully provided, as the pupils do not have the opportunity to learn about their own culture and study their mother tongue. This master thesis first describes migrations to Slovenia after World War II and the reasons for these migrations. The thesis then covers the concept of multiculturalism, especially forms of multicultural education. The term 'immigrant integration' can now be found more frequently in discussions of the immigrant population, but an analysis of this term in the field of education finds the term to be inappropriate. It would be professionally more acceptable to study this field within the framework of the concept of inclusiveness. A presentation of the formal arrangements in Sweden and Canada (two countries with a long tradition of immigration, who already have an established policy of multiculturalism and represent a model example for other countries) and the findings of the MIPEX study allow us to make a comparison with the current state of this field in Slovenia. The empirical part of the thesis presents case studies of three primary schools and their approach to the issue of new immigrant pupils, from the viewpoints of the teachers, the immigrant parents and the pupils.
A qualitative analysis shows that the schools have implemented certain good practices (teaching Slovenian language, the assistance of classmates or older pupils who speak the same language, cooperation between the school and the local immigrant society) that have already been recommended in documents on integrating immigrants into the Slovenian education system. The principal of the school has an important role in the approach and the solutions to the issue since he influences all other activities within the school (educating the teachers, organizing Slovenian language courses, staying in touch with the parents). Parents mainly come to Slovenia for economic reasons and expect their children to be successful in school, but most have trouble with the language. Pupils also emphasize trouble with the language, especially in the first months, as well as the distress they feel when enrolling into a Slovenian primary school. To make the integration of immigration pupils more just, several changes will be needed on the level of the entire educational system (e.g. offering mother language courses, educating the teachers etc.). The curricula will also need to be made less Eurocentric.
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