This thesis is developed in the field of research about educational leadership and multicultural pedagogy. It examines how school leaders may contribute to inclusion and educational equity for culturally and linguistically diverse minority students. The main purpose is to contribute to improving culturally and linguistically diverse minority students’ learning conditions.
The first article demonstrates school leaders’ responses to challenges of inclusion. Article two displays school leaders’ perceptions about multilingualism with regard to learning and social integration for minority students. Article three demonstrates the Norwegian Government's expectations for school leadership in a multicultural society.
The study is based on group interviews, individual interviews, and document analysis of Reports to the Storting. Based on the analysis the thesis illuminates factors which contribute to understand how school leaders work within a multicultural and multilingual context.
Main findings display that there is little collective effort or drive among the school leaders to meet the challenges of inclusion of linguistic minorities in social activities or facilitating for their optimal learning conditions. Secondly, despite what are considered good intentions among the school leaders, the study identified a lack of consciousness about the significance of cultural and linguistic background for learning and inclusion. Thirdly, the thesis identified a lack of dedication to multicultural approaches. However, it may also indicate a need for the whole staff to critically further explore their perceptions with regard to inclusive practices. The document analysis in article 3 displays a continuous development towards a stronger focus on educational quality, in terms of students’ achievements and more output-oriented means of governing, and New Public Management strategies. Furthermore, the thesis indicates a lack of clear indications of addressing the reality that some groups in school are advantaged and included in the daily operations and decisions of the school, and that other groups may be generally excluded or marginalized. For example, the articulation of the purpose of schooling was not explicitly connected to how power and privilege may reduce or become obstacles to equity education for linguistic minority students.
The thesis contributes to innovative and valuable knowledge in the research field of educational leadership and multicultural education, which within a Norwegian context is still in an early stage.
The work on this thesis has been conducted partly from the Department of teacher education and school development at University of Oslo, and partly from the department of teacher education and the department of economy, language and social sciences at Østfold University College.