Polite exclusion: high-performing immigrant students experience of peer exclusion

Integration problems are often explained in terms of segregation. Students with immigrant backgrounds are frequently associated with so-called ethnically segregated residential areas and stigmatized, low-performing, suburban schools. In contrast, this study investigates high-performing students attending a well-reputed school. While formally valued and included, they are subtly socially excluded by their peers. This exclusion is expressed in a subtle, almost intangible ways. It is, above all, polite, and expressed in tiny, everyday interactions. The fact that this exclusion is polite and intangible makes it hard to resist. There is little concrete action to object to, the risks of social stigma are too high, and the possibility of change too low. Thus the exclusion can continue unchallenged. The results show that formal, structural inclusion does not automatically lead to everyday, social inclusion. The research method consisted of participant observation, including audio recordings of interviews with students, their teachers and school leaders.Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and WelfareSwedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council for Health Working Life & Welfare (Forte) [2015-00302]