Teachers of the Second Immigrant Generation in Switzerland: A Fourfold Typology of Experiencing and Dealing with Difference and Belonging

Main Content

Author(s):

Carola Mantel(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

07 SES 06 A, Introducing Innovative Pedagogical Cultures

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-23

15:30-17:00

Room:

W3.09

Chair:

Francesca Gobbo

Contribution

In many European countries, there have been calls to diversify the teaching profession as a response to an increasing diversity within student populations. These calls are often based on underlying assumptions, that teachers with a personal migration history are well placed to act as role models for immigrant students, to have a deep understanding on the cultural beliefs and practices of their diverse students and to contribute intercultural perspectives to school curricula. However, these assumptions often lack differentiation and they run the risk of constructing a homogenous group of ‘immigrant teachers’ by positioning ‘them’ as ‘other’ teachers and as experts for intercultural issues, while the complexity of experiences and the facets of professionalism are being overlooked (Santoro, 2013).

The study that shall be presented, addresses this lack of differentiation for the case of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Pursuing a qualitative methodological approach, it gives answers to the following questions:

What kind of experiences with difference and belonging do teachers of the second immigrant generation make - in the course of their biographies as well as in the course of their becoming and being a teacher?
How do they deal with these experiences?
How are their professional ways of dealing with difference and belonging related to their biographical experiences and ways of dealing with these experiences?

Method

The data is generated by applying the qualitative method of biographical-narrative interviews according to Schütze (1983) and by theoretical sampling according to Glaser and Strauss (1998 [1967]). 19 long interviews – two meetings per person – are conducted with diverse teachers who teach on the primary school level. The sample comprises cases with different age and gender, different countries of origin, different socioeconomic backgrounds as well as different aspects of ascription such as skin colour, ‘foreign-sounding’ surnames and visible religious symbols. The data is analysed with hermeneutical approaches according to Schütze (1983), adding insights provided by Rosenthal (1995). The analytical scheme by Schütze has been chosen, as it is particularly rewarding with its distinction between ‘active behaving’ (‘aktives Handeln’) and ‘reactive suffering’ (‘reaktives Erleiden’) of individuals. This distinction allows a differentiated analyses of the teachers’ ways of dealing with difference and belonging which includes moments of ‘non-acting’ (‘nicht-handeln’) or – using Schütze’s terminology – of ‘suffering’ (‘erleiden’). Additionally, the data analysis is ‘sensitised’ (Glaser, 1978) by the theoretical framework of ‘boundary making’ by Wimmer (2013). This theory has its foundations in social constructivism (Barth, 1969; Bourdieu, 1983; Weber, 1921-1922) and frames social boundary making in terms of a dynamic process, in which the social world is divided into ‘us’ and ‘them’. Depending on the individuals’ position within power relations and depending on their way of dealing with these social dynamics, different forms of in- or exclusion are being experienced. These forms of in- or exclusion are conceptualised by Wimmer regarding ethnic, national or cultural divisions within societies. However, for the presented study, this frame is being expanded and the boundary making processes are not only understood referring to ethnicity, nationality or culture, but also referring to other social categories such as socioeconomic class, religion and gender, which often become relevant in an intertwined way (Crenshaw, 1991; Walgenbach, 2011).

Expected Outcomes

The analysis leads to a typology of four typical structures of interrelated aspects. These aspects include biographical experiences, motives to become a teacher, choice of school neighbourhood, use of languages, ideals of what immigrant students should be learning as well as general beliefs about intercultural learning. The findings also lead to a range of implications that should be considered in teacher education and in the recruitment of teachers. Above all however, they shed light on the question, for whom in educational settings a sense of belonging is provided in an unquestioned way and who is excluded in more or less subtle ways needing to struggle for an accepted belonging on a daily basis.

References

Barth, F. (1969). Introduction. In F. Barth (Ed.), Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference (pp. 9-38). London: Allen & Unwin. Bourdieu, P. (1983). Ökonomisches Kapital, kulturelles Kapital, soziales Kapital. In R. Kreckel (Ed.), Soziale Ungleichheiten (pp. 183-198). Göttingen: Otto Schwartz & Co. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical Sensitivity. Advances in the Methodology of Grounded Theory. Mill Valley: The Sociology Press. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1998 [1967]). Grounded Theory. Strategien qualitativer Forschung [engl. Orig.: The Discovery of Grounded Theory]. Bern: Verlag Hans Huber. Rosenthal, G. (1995). Erlebte und erzählte Lebensgeschichte. Gestalt und Struktur biographischer Selbstbeschreibungen. Frankfurt/Main: Campus. Santoro, N. (2013). The drive to diversify the teaching profession: narrow assumptions, hidden complexities. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1-19. Schütze, F. (1983). Biographieforschung und narratives Interview. Neue Praxis, 13(3), 283-293. Walgenbach, K. (2011). Intersektionalität als Analyseparadigma kultureller und sozialer Ungleichheiten. In J. Bilstein, J. Ecarius & E. Keiner (Eds.), Kulturelle Differenzen und Globalisierung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Weber, M. (1921-1922). Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). Wimmer, A. (2013). Ethnic boundary making. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Author Information

Carola Mantel (presenting / submitting)

University of Teacher Education Zug

Zug

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