1. Two years studies at a teacher training programme that are completed.

2. The equivalent of English B in Swedish secondary school.

The aim of the course is to prepare student teachers for their professional task of working with children in culturally diverse pre-schools and schools.

The course is organised around four themes, including both theoretical studies and school experiences:

Theme 1. Personal and professional self-awareness

Theme 2. Comparative studies of educational systems

Theme 3a. Strategies and methods for teaching/learning in multiethnic and multilingual settings

Theme 3b. Language and concept development

Theme 4a. Migration and national and minority group identity

Theme 4b. World philosophies, religions, ideologies and value systems as seen in the Swedish classroom.

After having completed the course the student should be able to

The course will take into consideration and take advantage of the international composition of the student body. Early in the course there will be a practical exposure

in a school/pre-school setting. Simultaneously there will be exercises and reflections on students’ own cultural experiences and assumptions. After this a period of theoretical studies will follow, which in turn will be followed by a longer period of school experiences (practical work in school). Finally, the students will complete their portfolio, which will be presented and discussed in seminars during the final week of the course. Lectures, seminars, literature-seminars, group work, school experiences are part of the teaching and learning methods. Since the process within the group is an important part of the course most of the program is mandatory.

During the course students will be able to evaluate and influence/plan the teaching and learning methods used.

The students will be assessed by

1. individual written examination on the course literature

2. project work focused on world migration and its consequences seen in society and in the classroom

3. presentation of an individual portfolio with reflections on the course themes

4. seminars on educational systems and the value systems in different countries.

Reading list

Andersson-Levitt, Kathryn (2005) The Schoolyard Gate: Schooling and Childhood in Global Perspective. Journal of Social History, summer 2005

Banks, A. James. (1999) An Introduction to Multicultural Education. (Second Edition) Boston: Allyn and Bacon,.(176 p.)

Bouakaz, L. (2007). Parental involvement in school. What hinders and what promotes parental involvement in an urban school. Malmö Studies in Educational Scienses, nr 30. Malmö: Högskolan, lärarutbildningen.

Bunar, N. (2010b). The geographies of education and relationships in a multicultural city – enrolling in a high-poverty, low-achieving school and choosing to stay there, Acta Sociologica, 5(2). 141-159.

Castles, Stephan & Miller, Mark J. The age of migration. International Population Movements in the modern world Third edition 2003, Palgrave Macmillan, Chapter 1-6, 8, 10-12 (222p)

Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society. Ontario: California Association for Bilingual Education

Eriksen,Thomas Hylland (2002) Ethnicity and Nationalism Pluto Press (208 p) Gibbons, Pauline, (2002), Scaffolding Language, scaffolding learning - Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom, Heinemann

Liljefors Persson, Bodil: “Religious Studies and Learning - and Beyond! Grasping the Global Field of Religious Education Research from a Local Perspective”, publicerad i: Towards a European Perspective on Religious Education, Bibliotheca Theologiae Practicae 74, Uppsala Universitet, Rune Larsson; Caroline Gustafson,(Ed), Denmark 2004.( p 212-222).

Nilsson, J. & Axelsson, M. (2013). “Welcome to Sweden…”: Newly Arrived Students’

Experiences of Pedagogical and Social provision in Introductory and regular Classes.

Nilsson, J. & Bunar, N. (2015). Educational responses to newly arrived students in Sweden. Understanding the structure and influence of post-migration ecology. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

Jönsson, Rune; Bodil Liljefors Persson: “Love, Peace and Understanding - Life-Vital Questions and Borders of Solidarity among 16-year-old pupils in Swedish Compulsory School” I Nordic Perspectives on Religion, Spirituality and Identity (red) Kirsi Tirri, conference volume from 8th Nordic Conference in Religious Education, Religion, Spirituality and Identity, Helsingfors university, Helsingfors 2005. (12 p.).

Sandström Kjellin, Margareta; Stier, Jonas:.(2008) Citizenship Education- Forming Cultural Identities in Five European Countries Gleerups (120p.)

Evaluation is an integral part of the course. A final written evaluation based on the course aims and objectives is done at the end of the course. This evaluation is used as a starting point for a concluding oral course evaluation which must include measures that need to be taken up to develop the course. The result of the evaluation is summarised and made available in a report to be used as a basis for future courses.