Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2014, Side 123

Vióhorf til samþættingar skóla- og frístundastarfs í fjölmenningarskóla
Höfundar vilja þakka börnum, starfsfólki og foreldrum sem þátt tóku í rannsókninni
fyrir að miðla af reynslu sinni á óeigingjarnan hátt og leyfa rannsakendum að spyrja
þau spjörunum úr. Við þökkum einnig ritrýnum og yfirlesurum TUM kærlega fyrir
gagnlegar ábendingar.
Abstract
Integration of school and after-school program
in a multicultural elementary school
This article presents a qualitative case
study of a recent educational development
project in Fellaskóli in Iceland, which be-
gan during the academic year 2012-2013.
Fellaskóli is in many ways unique in Ice-
land as 70% of the student body speaks
a language other than Icelandic at home.
One of the main purposes of the develop-
ment project was to intertwine school and
after-school program in an effort to im-
prove reading, language and social skills
for six and seven year old students. The
opportunity for greater exposure to an
Icelandic speaking environment through
integration of the school and after-school
program is part of a broader project in the
neighborhood to support and improve
student experiences and outcomes. In the
spring of 2012, the school received a grant
for the project and subsequently length-
ened the school day and hired support
staff who were placed in the classrooms
during the school day and who then took
charge of the children in the after-school
centre, hereafter referred to as paraprofes-
sionals.
This article begins with a discussion of
the theoretical underpinnings of the re-
search. The authors explore recent research
on school and after-school care, its integra-
tion, the importance of socialization for
children, as well as a discussion of educa-
tion in a multicultural context and active
bilingualism. The researchers interviewed
nine school staff, six children and 15 par-
ents to better understand their school and
after-school experiences as well as con-
ducting a number of site visits which in-
cluded tours of the school grounds lead by
students and extensive document reviews.
Student and parent interviews were audio
recorded for further analysis and parent
focus groups included interpreters in or-
der to facilitate discussion.
The three main findings of the research
were that i) the integration of school and af-
ter-school care supported positive experiences
of children and their families. The children
interviewed reported satisfaction with
the changes in the program, and neither
the parents nor the children reported sig-
nificant tiredness due to the length of
the school day. Interestingly, the children
made a clear distinction between the role
of the teacher and the paraprofession-
als, and noted that they appreciated that
the paraprofessionals were with them
throughout the day into the after-school
time. The parent focus groups indicated
high parental satisfaction with the new
program, as parents noted the improved
opportunities students had to build social
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