Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2014, Side 124

Kolbrún Þ. Pálsdóttir, Brynja Elísabeth Halldórsdóttir og Ester Helga Líneyjardóttir
contacts both with adults and other chil-
dren, not the least to develop cross-cultur-
al friendships.
ii) increased attention to children's social
activities and participation in after-school care
supports integration and cultural adjustment
consistent with multicultural learning com-
munities. Overall, the researchers conclud-
ed that a significant effort was being made
toward addressing the varied social and
cultural needs of the students. However,
the children pointed out areas for improve-
ment, as they noted how loud and disor-
ganized the transition between school and
the after-school area was and that certain
activities that they would have enjoyed,
such as dress-up, were not options as they
had been the previous year. Many parents
noted that they valued the multicultural
learning environment the school offered
although a few noted there had been small
incidents between students, which could
have been handled with more attention to
the possible underlying ethnic tensions.
Furthermore, the data revealed that par-
ent involvement was low and cultural and
language barriers seemed to hinder active
parent-teacher cooperation.
iii) a clear role definition is needed for the
paraprofessionals, who work as support staff
and leisure-time workers, and an effort needs
to be made to increase their professional sup-
port. The roles of paraprofessionals were in
many ways unclear, i.e. whether they were
support staff or leisure-time workers. They
mostly foilowed instructions of either
teachers or program coordinator. How-
ever, they emphasized play and children's
choice of activities in the after-school pro-
gram, and enjoyed their work with the
children. Integration of educational goals
between school and after-school activities
was at a low level, as teachers had no input
in after-school activities. Furthermore, the
paraprofessionals interviewed indicated
that they would have liked to have more
input in the development of the project. To
facilitate professional leadership, it is im-
portant to enhance knowledge and train-
ing of paraprofessionals as well as to hire
leisure-time pedagogues.
In conclusion, the authors believe that
the development project which was ex-
plored here has increased the children's
opportunities to develop their social con-
nections, both in the school and after-
school communities. Such connections,
especially cross-cultural friendships, can
minimize the chances of multilingual
children remaining on the periphery of
school and Icelandic society. Respect for
multiculturalism needs to be more deeply
integrated into the formal and informal
curriculum, with such an integration stu-
dents will learn to respect, understand
and work together against cultural bias.
The research found that Fellaskóli had
taken positive and constructive steps to
deconstruct the existant walls between the
school curriculum and the informal leam-
ing that occurs during after-school care.
Through this research both the teachers
and the paraprofessionals have taken steps
to gain knowledge and experience which
in turn will help them develop more con-
structive collaboration between school and
after-school care for children in the earliest
grades.
Keywords: multicultural education, leisure-time cen-
tres, collaboration