Understanding and Improving the Social Integration of Immigrant Background Students in Oslo and Florence : A Comparative Case Study of First- and Second- Generation Immigrant Students

Europe has experienced a significant shift in demographics over the past several decades. This internationalization is in part due to intra-European mobility, falling birth rates among native-born citizens, and the influx of refugees fleeing from civil wars in developing countries such as Syria and Sudan. This trend has sparked research into the integration of immigrant-background students. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows immigrant-background students struggle with learning a new language, cultural assimilation, and bullying. The consequences of these challenges include higher drop-out rates and lower chances of finding gainful employment. This qualitative, comparative study consisted of 12 one-hour long interviews focused on identity formation, assimilation and experiences of first- and second-generation immigrant- background students in the regions of Oslo, Norway and Tuscany, Italy. The interviews were designed to understand the students’ perspectives on their integration at school and their insights into how immigrant-student integration can be improved. Main findings indicate that both countries and the regions of Oslo and Tuscany have invested in multicultural understanding and projects aimed at integrating immigrant students and families. The countries share similarities in their immigrant populations and political will to improve integration. However, students from Norway and the Oslo region, despite disparate data from the OECD, had more positive experiences. Norway has been more proactive in its approach to integration, initiating several integration projects since the early 2000s and developing a national integration plan. Italy has been graded more positively by the OECD in students’ sense of belonging and integration at schools, but interview subjects were more pessimistic about their classroom experiences. The interview subjects observed a lack of multicultural awareness amongst native-background students. These findings suggest a need for better teacher training and for expansion of social projects aimed at integration of immigrant-background students, both inside and outside the classroom