Collisions and Continuities: Ten Immigrant Families and Their Children in Icelandic Society and Schools

Icelandic society has seen considerable demographic
changes during the last decade with growing numbers
of immigrant families settling in the country. This
has created a challenge to the Icelandic educational
system, demanding improvement to meet the ethnic
diversity of students at all school levels. This
book presents a study of ten immigrant families,
with particular emphasis on the children and their
schooling during their first years in Iceland. The
main significance of the study is its close analysis
of individual experiences during the processes of
immigration and adjustment to a new society and
school community. The main conclusions of the study
reveal insufficient school conditions of many of the
immigrant children and discontinuities between some
of the homes and schools. A reform agenda is needed
at all school levels in Iceland to respond to the
new multicultural reality and to prevent the
segregation of immigrant children. The book should
be useful to researchers within the fields of
education, sociology, anthropology and multicultural
studies as well as practitioners, such as teachers,
school leaders and policy makers.