Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2013, Síða 139

Líðan, félagsleg tengsl og þátttaka nemenda í 5.-7. bekk grunnskóla I frístundastarfi
stundamiðstöðva í að taka á móti börnum
af erlendum uppruna og auðvelda þeim
þátttöku er einnig mikilvæg, svo og sam-
vinna þeirra við umsjónarkennara barna,
sem gjarnan vita hvaða börn stunda frí-
stundastarf og hver ekki. Umsjónarkenn-
arar hafa einnig oft mikilvæga yfirsýn og
skilning á því hvaða börn þurfa virkilega á
frístundastarfi að halda og geta hvatt þau
áfram. Samstarf frístundamiðstöðva við
skóla er því nauðsynlegt í þessu samhengi.
Abstract
Well-being, social interaction and participation in leisure ac-
tivities of students in grades 5 to 7 in primary schools:
A comparison based on students' home languages
The article discusses the main findings on
the well-being, social interaction and par-
ticipation of students in 5th through 7th
grade in leisure activities. The research
was conducted by the Centre for Social
Research and Analysis, Reykjavík Uni-
versity (Hrefna Pálsdóttir, Inga Dóra Sig-
fúsdóttir, Jón Sigfússon and Álfgeir Logi
Kristjánsson in 2011). All students in 5th to
7th grade in Iceland in February 2011 were
invited to participate. The questionnaires
were in Icelandic and Polish.
The article presents a special analysis of
data based on the criteria of language spo-
ken in the home: 1) only Icelandic spoken
at home, 2) Icelandic and another native or
home Ianguage, 3) only another native or
home language than Icelandic. The find-
ings indicate that there are differences in
responses among these three groups. The
main conclusion is that children whose
native or home language is not Icelan-
dic are disadvantaged socially; they feel
worse than their peers, they are more often
teased and are excluded. They spend less
time with peers and have fewer friends.
Children who live in a home where
there is another home language than Ice-
landic participate less frequently in or-
ganized leisure activities and exercise less
even if they are participating in sports.
Even though children are brought up in
a home where both Icelandic and another
native or home Ianguage are spoken, it
affects their well-being, social interaction
and participation in leisure activities.
Numerous studies in recent years have
revealed a weak social position of immi-
grant children or children who speak a lan-
guage other than the majority language in
their communities (Brooker, 2002; Hernan-
dez, 2004; Horst and Gitz-Johansen, 2010;
Nieto, 2010; Ogbu, 2003; Valdés, 1996). The
reasons could be many, including that the
education system has not adapted well to
the cultural and linguistic diversity of the
students. Children lack knowledge about
the differences between home and school
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