Teachers' perspectives on additional support for immigrant students in Icelandic schools

Education policy in Iceland is rooted in principles of inclusive education and emphasises equality and quality education at all levels. The great majority of students are educated in general public schools that are supposed to meet students’ diverse needs. In the past few years, Iceland has seen an increasing immigration rate that has affected schools and required teachers to respond to students who have an immigrant background and do not speak Icelandic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 teachers in 6 schools in the northern and southern parts of the country in order to explore the additional support provided to students with immigrant background in Icelandic compulsory schools. The findings indicate a lack of structure of the support, responsibility towards the students is not clear and the learning environment needs to be more structured according to inclusive practices and students’ diversity.