Vikten av pedagogisk kartläggning i arbetet med nyanlända elever

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore and describe how a number of schools do pedagogical mapping on newly arrived students’ knowledge and abilities, and how they use the results of the mapping to arrange and adapt the education for newly arrived students. The data consists of seven semi- structured interviews with teachers and teachers of special education and from classroom observation in five schools in different municipalities in Sweden. The findings in this study show that there are both differences and similarities between the five schools. The differences and similarities place these five schools in two groups. In one group there are three schools that have a higher number of students with immigrant backgrounds and newly arrived students. These schools use existing pedagogical mapping materials but adapt them for newly arrived students to better map their knowledge and abilities. The education for newly arrived students in these schools is in introductory classes and teachers use the pedagogical mapping to assess when or if a newly arrived student is ready to move to a regular class. The other group of schools consists of two schools that have a smaller number of students with immigrant backgrounds and newly arrived students. The education for newly arrived students in those schools is in regular classes. The newly arrived students have their education in Swedish as a second language outside the regular classroom with a teacher of special education. The teachers in special education use the same pedagogical mapping for students with Swedish as a mother tongue and for newly arrived students, to map their abilities and knowledge mainly in Swedish and mathematics. The aim of this study is to show the importance of pedagogical mapping of newly arrived students’ abilities and knowledge. The newly arrived students constitute a heterogeneous group with various abilities, knowledge and backgrounds. These students have in common that they have limited knowledge in Swedish. That does not mean that these students do not have other skills and knowledge that are important to develop for their further learning.