Teachers’ attitudes and assumptions regarding newly arrived migrant students’ education: Insights from Iceland and Norway

This article explores teachers’ attitudes and assumptions regarding the education of newly arrived migrant students, including their linguistic, cultural, and academic needs, and how these attitudes and assumptions may position the students as learners. Our analysis draws on semi-structured interviews with teachers at lower-secondary schools in Iceland and Norway conducted between 2022 and 2024. By juxtaposing interviews with teachers educating newly arrived migrant students in mainstream classes in Iceland and in a reception class in Norway, we contribute to the literature on the education of newly arrived migrant students by exploring how different conditions and educational contexts shape teachers’ experiences. Our data reveal that many teachers report feeling insufficiently prepared to meet the diverse educational needs of newly arrived students, citing limited training and a lack of support structures in their schools as key factors. Teachers at the two sites often describe newly arrived migrant students facing multiple challenges, including interrupted schooling, difficulty adapting to the instructional methods common in the Nordic countries, and limited proficiency in the language of instruction. Following this, we discuss how teachers’ attitudes and assumptions can place newly arrived students in a disempowered and deficit position, highlighting the relationship between teachers’ attitudes and assumptions and student agency.