Teaching and support in Icelandic Universities: Immigrant students’ experiences
As a result of increased migration in recent decades, the number of students of foreign origin has increased in universities in Iceland. This paper derives from the research project Educational aspirations, opportunities and challenges for immigrants in university education in Iceland (2016-2018) fu...
| Published in: | Netla |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | Icelandic |
| Published: |
Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ojs.hi.is/netla/article/view/2800 https://doi.org/10.24270/netla.2018.5 |
| Summary: | As a result of increased migration in recent decades, the number of students of foreign origin has increased in universities in Iceland. This paper derives from the research project Educational aspirations, opportunities and challenges for immigrants in university education in Iceland (2016-2018) funded by the Icelandic Research Fund. The main goal of the research project is to study aspirations, opportunities and challenges of immigrants in university education in Iceland. The project also aims to identify the kind of support available in the universities for students of foreign origin and how the students use this support. This paper is based on the results of group and individual interviews with 41 immigrant students, who are currently enrolled, or have been enrolled, in an undergraduate programme in one of the three targeted Icelandic universities; University of Iceland, Reykjavík University and University of Akureyri. Data was analysed through the qualitative procedures of thematic analysis, coding and constant comparison of data. This paper presents three key themes that appear in the analysis of most of the interviews: the participants’ experiences of teaching methods, the educational support that they receive in the universities and challenges they face during their studies. The findings of the interviews indicate that the majority of the participants think that the teaching methods in the Icelandic universities are modern. The participants enjoy a sense of the equality between teachers and students in the universities. They also acknowledge teachers’ positive attitudes when students try to use their previous knowledge during class discussions or in projects. The participants also elaborated on practical teaching methods such as discussion sessions and group-work which the Icelandic teachers frequently use in their teaching. The participants’ experiences of and attitudes towards group work, however, vary considerably. Some participants feel group work is useful and educational, because it gives them an ... |
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