Language courses for adult migrants: Place, time and power.

Author(s):

Malgorzata Zielinska(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

07 SES 03 A, Migrant Education

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-18

17:15-18:45

Room:

ESI 3 - Aula 4

Chair:

John Lundy

Contribution

Over 20 years after the fall of communism, migration from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to Western Europe is particularly high. This paper discusses adult education, especially language courses for migrants from the perspectives of place (Cresswell, 2006; Massey, 2005), power (Bourdieu, 1991) and time (Arthur & Tait, 2004). Such courses are a controversial issue throughout Europe – they can be seen as empowering migrants by teaching them necessary language skills for social mobility (Stern,1997), but whenever made obligatory, they can also become a tool whereby states control their new citizens and exercise symbolic power over their lives (see: Shohamy, 2009).

In this paper, I will reflect on adult education for migrants, from the perspective of Polish migrants in Reykjavik, Iceland – a country outside the EU, but integrated into the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Area. The reseaerch, conducted in 2009-2010 focuses on migrants' educational needs and their opinions about of adult education.

Method

The paper is based on a field study conducted between September 2009 and June 2010 in Reykjavik. The study was qualitative and it included: 1) an ethnographic observation of migrants' life in Reykjavik; 2) a study on adult learning centres' websites, promotional material, and reports; interviews with their representatives, and other officials engaged in adult education for migrants. 3) semi-structured and recorded interviews with 34 adult migrants from Poland whether or not they took part in formal or non-formal adult education. The sampling for interviews was purposeful and was meant to reflect the diversity of the Polish population in Iceland.

Expected Outcomes

The results of this study are achieved by analysing adult education, as well as migrants' educational needs, through the prisms of place, time and power. The notion of place serves as a lens for looking at adult education programmes, while time is a focal point in understanding migrants educational decisions. It appears that migrants often describe their lives as unpredictable. Their plans change frequently, depending on both local and global factors. Such unpredictability is the main obstacle against learning Icelandic. At the same time, many feel a moral need to learn Icelandic. They have a strong belief in nation states, national languages and in the rights and power of the native population. A critical look at place-based education for adult migrants (such as citizenship and language courses) shows that it is often a tool for exercising symbolic power. Even though migrants may feel a need to learn the local language, many prefer learning it from their colleagues in informal settings and consider formal and non-formal adult education as time-consuming and inflexible.

References

Arthur, L., & Tait, A. (2004) Too little time to learn? Issues and challenges for those in work, Studies in the Education of Adults, 36(2), 222-234. Bauman, Z. (2005) Learning to walk in quicksands, in A. Bron, E. Kurantowicz, H. Olesen & L. West (Eds, Old and new worlds of adult learning. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Naukowe DSWE Bourdieu, P. (1991) Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cresswell, T. (2006) On The Move. New York, London: Routledge. Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder. Grummell, D. B. (2007) The „Second Chance” Myth: Equality of Opportunity in Irish Adult Education Policies, British Journal of Educational Studies, 55 (2), 182-201. Gruenewald, D.A. (2003) The best of both worlds: a critical pedagogy of place, Educational Researcher, 32, 3-12. Massey, D. B. (2005) For Space. Sage Publications Ltd. Mendel, M. (2006) Pedagogika miejsca i animacja na miejsce wrażliwa, in M. Mendel (Ed) Pedagogika miejsca. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Naukowe DSWE TWP. Ólafs, H. & Zielińska, M. (2010) „I started to feel worse when I understood more” Polish immigrants and the Icelandic media, Þjóðarspegillinn 2010. The Social Science Research Institute, University of Iceland. http://skemman.is/en/item/view/1946/6741. Þórarinsdóttir, H. (1999) Purity and power: The policy of purism in Icelandic nationalism and national identity. PhD thesis, New School University. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?did=982785601&Fmt=7&clientId =79356&RQT=309&VName=PQD Shohamy, E. (2009) Language tests for immigrants: Why language? Why tests? Why citizenship?, in G. Hogan-Brun, C. Mar-Molinero & P. Stevenson (Eds) Discourses on language and integration: critical perspectives on language testing regimes in Europe. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Stern, H. (1997) Organizing ESL Students for Social Change. http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED408867.pdf Van Houdt, F., Suvarierol, S., & Schinkel, W. (2011) Neoliberal communitarian citizenship: Current trends towards ‘earned citizenship’ in the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, International Sociology, 26(3), 408 -432.

Author Information

Malgorzata Zielinska (presenting / submitting)

University of Gdansk

Institute of Pedagogy

Gdansk

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