Perspektiv på svensk skola - fem framgångsrika invandrarelevers erfarenheter och tankar

This is a qualitative analysis based on interviews with five students, aged 17-19, all with an immigrant background and with a history of being successful in their school work. The students were interviewed twice with an interval of 1 to 1.5 years. The main purpose of this essay is to learn more about these students’ experiences and to understand their conceptions of being students in the Swedish school system. Another aim is to put focus on the chosen target group, since it is a category of students that seldom gets attention in media or research. The outcome of the analysis is that no particular problem areas could be pin-pointed that directly relate to the ethnical background of the students. In spite of their various backgrounds, these students seem to have similar thoughts about their schooling as ethnically Swedish students do. They find the Swedish school system to be generally fair and rewarding to those who have earned it through hard work. The problem is not the diverse backgrounds of the students per se, but the potentially discriminating treatment they may encounter because of it. A conclusion of the study is that it is important that teachers are aware of their underlying assumptions when they interact with the students, in order to offer non-discriminating education, regardless of the students’ backgrounds