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The purpose of the present study is to achieve a new level of knowledge of interculturality, ethnicity and multilingualism in conjunction with practical and organisational activities involving newly arrived migrant students in upper-secondary education. The analysis revolves around the following two research questions: (1) How do newly arrived migrant students produces interculturality, ethnicity and multilingualism in conjunction with practical activities in upper-secondary schools? (2) How do those involved produce newly arrived migrant students’ identity formation and reformation during teaching and learning activities in upper-secondary schools, and the significance of such processes to social integration? The empirical material used in the study consists of qualitative interviews, field notes and documents related to upper-secondary education obtained from a number of Swedish municipalities. Ten interviews have been conducted with newly arrived students attending different upper-secondary schools in Sweden. The dominant standard explanations of the category of newly arrived students (especially those who come from war zones) seem to focus on their psychiatric or medical needs. The common diagnoses that figure in the research include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, recurring nightmares, emotional apathy, and flashbacks to traumatic events. Common explanations for absence in the school context include stomach aches, restlessness, anxiety, and depression, and competing explanations seem relatively de-emphasized. These may include (1) established inequalities in society and at school, (2) material and institutional difficulties in societal and school contexts, (3) bureaucratic hurdles in school and in the rest of society, (4) ethnic monitoring and social control in society and at school, (5) the humiliated identities of the actors in a societal and school context, (6) victimization in relation to the majority in the context; (7) demeaning ethnic categorizations in society and at school, and (8) discrimination in the school context and an overall societal context. Analysis of the collected empirical data in this study shows that the ethnic identities of newly arrived students are constructed and reconstructed during teaching and learning activities in upper-secondary schools. During these activities, an ethnified position of “us” and “them” is produced and reproduced between actors in the context of upper-secondary education. These positions are analysed in the present study as both an obstacle (“us” and “them” in the relationship between various ethnic categories of student and teacher, or as ethnified monitoring and social control in the school context) and an opportunity (a common ethnified “we” in the relationship between teacher and student). School success for newly arrived students: possibilities, obstacles, identities and collaboration

The purpose of the present study is to achieve a new level of knowledge of interculturality and multilingualism in conjunction with practical and organisational activities involving newly arrived migrant students in upper-secondary education. The analysis revolves around the following three research questions: (1) How do head teachers, teachers and other professionals working in upper-secondary schools describe interculturality and multilingualism in conjunction with practical and organisational activities involving newly arrived migrant students? (2) How do newly arrived migrant students describe interculturality and multilingualism in conjunction with practical activities in upper-secondary schools? (3) How do those involved describe newly arrived migrant students’ identity formation and reformation during teaching and learning activities in upper-secondary schools, and the significance of such processes to social integration? The empirical material used in the study consists of qualitative interviews, field notes and documents related to upper-secondary education obtained from a number of Swedish municipalities. In addition to newly arrived migrant students, the study’s informants are representatives of various professions working in upper-secondary education. Thirty interviews have been conducted with professionals working with newly arrived migrant students, as well as interviews with 10 newly arrived students attending different upper-secondary schools in Sweden. Analysis of the collected empirical data shows that the ethnic identities of both professionals and students are constructed and reconstructed during teaching and learning activities in upper-secondary schools. During these activities, an ethnified position of “us” and “them” is produced and reproduced between actors in the context of upper-secondary education. These positions are analysed in the present study as both an obstacle (“us” and “them” in the relationship between various ethnic categories of student and teacher, or as ethnified monitoring and social control in the school context) and an opportunity (a common ethnified “we” in the relationship between teacher and student). Nationell specialpedagogisk konferens. Inkludering i etikens motljus (”National special education conference in Sweden. Inclusion in the backlight of ethics”), Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden (20211110-20211111). ”Interculturality and Multilingualism in Upper-Secondary Schools: An analysis of opportunities and obstacles in organisational and practical activities with newly arrived migrant students”. Hennie Kesak and Goran Basic. School success for newly arrived students: possibilities, obstacles, identities and collaboration