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ERIC Number: ED407549
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1100-3391
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Refugees and Adult Education in Sweden. The Gatekeeper Janus. Reprints and Miniprints No. 852.
Douglas, Karsten
Experiences of Bosnian adult refugees within the Swedish educational system raise questions of diversity and indications of institutionalized discrimination. Approaches to diversity within the education system reflect those approaches within the social system of the nation. Sweden is presently moving toward a uniform and more restrictive European refugee policy. The reorganization of the Swedish education system has involved an ideological shift toward teacher efficiency, internationalization, democratization, and student orientation. Many teachers are finding themselves caught between mixed loyalties to their peer group or organization and student expectations and needs. The symbol of Janus has been used to represent the identification and manifestation of minority cultures in Sweden where some believe minority culture must be controlled by institutionalized authoritarian means. The adult education system is one of many institutionalized instruments of control of marginalized groups within society. Swedish language teachers who stress the absolute necessity of being able to write and speak fluent Swedish may not be aware of how their teaching may be perceived as assertions of power and control by refugee students. Language is a central component of the idea of diversity. The position is taken that those who persist through pedagogical practice in emphasizing the passive consumption of knowledge and skills are expediting institutionalized discrimination. (Contains 33 references) (YLB)
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Lund Univ., Malmo (Sweden). Dept. of Educational and Psychological Research.
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A