What is the main focus of your thesis?

Denis Tajic. Photo: Rickard Kilström

- My thesis investigates how schools’ formal and informal structures affect the pedagogical and social inclusion of newly arrived students, and how newly arrived students and school personnel understand and handle these structures. In other words I have studied how schools apply the government determined regulations and consequences that cause to newly arrived students. I began my research two-three years after the Swedish government had carried out an extensive educational policy and wanted to investigate how the new regulations worked, says Denis Tajic.

Can you explain what is meant by formal and informal structures?

- Formal structures refer to various pedagogical measures that were formed in 2015 with the aim to provide better conditions for schools to organize education of newly arrived students.

- Informal structures refer to newly arrived students’ relations with other students and personnel in schools.

What are the outcomes of your study?

- It is obvious that formal and informal structures are closely linked to each other. School needs to focus on both in order to achieve pedagogical and social inclusion. Regardless of the way the education is organized i.e., no matter if newly arrived students attend in preparations classes or in the existing classes school shall pay attention to the informal structures. Newly arrived students need support when making efforts to integrate with other students. It seems particularly challenging for newly arrived to integrate with others on higher grades. This is probably because many students known each other since a long time, says Denis Tajic and continues, however my study shows that newly arrived can be included with the right support.

Formal and informal structures are closely linked to each other.

- My research deviates from previous research. It shows solidarity in school environment. Newly arrived are recognized by their classmates and personnel and are therefore considered as a legitimate part of the school. This finding is special to me. I have a background as an assistant principal inn school and had an impression that newly arrived are excluded, says Tajic.

Individual needs shall be taken into account

- The thesis indicate that whilst schools implement the regulations, they also in parallel fail in applying them. Reason is that newly arrives are often considered as a homogenic group and support is applied thereafter. According to the government regulations newly arrived students shall be provided support based on their individual needs. Yet the lack of such individual adaptation leads to disbalance in how resources are utilized. It seems school is constantly finding ways to legitimize their practices in relation to what the policy prescribes.

- I came across two students during my research. These two had a very different backgrounds and also varying results in school. One of them achieved almost highest grades in the class whereas the other failed in several subjects. Both were provided a mandatory one-hour supervisor support per week. However, if individual needs would have been taken into account, the student with top grades should not have needed to attend the supervisor hour at all whereas the student with failed grades should have got the double compared to what was provided, says Tajic.

Social background important

- The research is based on the empirical material that was collected in two primary schools located on so-called suburbs with a special structural conditions. Most of the students in these two schools have another mother tongue than swedish, to be exact 80 per cent respective 90 per cent. It seems obvious that residential area has an important role when it comes to inclusion. Suburbs with so called multicultural atmosphere tend to provide greater prerequisite for solidarity and acceptance.

Tension between the regulations and school

- Schools are provided a great deal of flexibility on how to interpret and adapt the government determined regulations. This leads to tension between formal structure and the students’ individual’s needs. Personnel in schools can be divided into two different categories, authorized and non-authorized. The authorized include principal, school management and personnel who has the mandate to interpret the regulations whereas the non-authorized include students and other school personnel who lack the mandate but can with the right approach accomplish a great deal of inclusion. My research indicates that schools’ non-authorized personnel can accomplish an enormous change in values and attitudes. I have seen examples where newly arrived students have gone from being an isolated non-integrated group somewhere in the background to a group of friends who play football together and chat in the hallway, days Tajic.

What contribution do you wish your theses will bring?

-  I hope my theses bring increased understanding in how education can be organized for newly arrived so that they can are provided opportunities for inclusion. I also hope that schools can realize the importance of interaction of the pedagogical och social structures, concludes Tajic.
 

Download Denis Tajic doctoral theses: Between policy and practice.

More about Denis Tajic.

Previous intervju with Denis about the topic (in swedish).