”Barnen talar två språk och har två kulturer” : Föräldraperspektiv på tvåspråkig undervisning

Cooperation between school and home is one of the cornerstones in school policiesin Sweden, as well as internationally. During the last decades, questions of parentalinfluence and the freedom to choose schools have come to the fore. The importanceof well-functioning cooperation between school and home, aiming tosupport school performance and improve the pupils’ results, is another issue whichhas been stressed in policy, as well as in research. When implementing a majorchange, such as developing bilingual education, it is important to have the supportand cooperation of the parents. In this paper the views of parents of pupils whoreceived bilingual education in Arabic and Swedish are presented. Data was collectedin questionnaires. In addition to information concerning the educational andlinguistic background of the family, the parents gave their views on bilingual educationin general, and on the bilingual education their children received, in particular.The parents appreciated the bilingual education and emphasized the importance ofboth mother tongue and Swedish for their children. They regarded bilingualism asan asset and wanted their children to become bilingual and bicultural