One-Size-(does not)-Fit-All : Adult immigrant students' understanding of the determinants for success in learning Swedish as a second language

• Main Author: McEvoy, Caitlin
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för kulturantropologi och etnologi 2016
• Subjects: Integration; immigration; distribution of the forms of capital; language-education; educational anthropology
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-276538

This thesis explores the experiences of adult immigrant students within four different classes of the course Swedish as a second language (svenska som andraspråk :SAS), which is a standardized course offered around Sweden.  This course is structured by the national school board in Sweden and is aimed as a social policy for integration through language acquisition and learning to navigate Swedish society.  By conducting anthropological research among these students, I sought to uncover more regarding the determinants for success within the course and how students mediate and experience the one-size-fits-all course structure despite the asymmetrically distributed forms of capital within the classroom. Students responded with resentment and frustration, which highlights how this structure for education can be ineffective and suffers from a lack of ‘pedagogic transmission.’ This thesis will highlight the determinants of success that should be incorporated into the structure and execution of SAS as well as putting the students’ voices on a platform that is not often regarded when designing curriculums.