Teachers´ Wellbeing; a Binary Asset Working with Newly Arrived Migrant Pupils

Abstract

Today’s classrooms are more culturally and ethnically diverse than ever, and never has diversity been so extensive or raised such complex questions in education (Banks, 2011). In 2018, migrant population represented 17.3 % of the Norwegian population (Report to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Norwegian ministries 2018). This diversity poses challenges (Gutentag et al., 2018) and opportunities (Banks, 2017) for schools and for teachers who work with migrant pupils, especially those who recently arrived (Horenczyk & Tatar, 2002; Author, 2019a; Author, 2021). In Norway, there are classes called reception or introductory classes (mottaksklasser) for newly arrived minority langue pupils’ (NAMLPs) for Norwegian language learning along with remedial education (Hilt, 2016; Author, 2019a). These reception classes are very divers in terms of ethnicities, religions, languages, cultures, and traditions (Hilt, 2016; Dewilde & Kulbrandstad, 2016; Author, 2019a; Author, 2021). The role of reception teachers who work with NAMLPs is significant (Tatar & Horenczyk, 2003; Gutentag et al., 2018) as they are often the first representative of the host society (Dewilde & Skrefsrud, 2016; Author, 2019a) in addition to having a general teacher role. For successful integration, and for academic and social development, we must be concerned with the well-being of NAMLPs (Author, 2019b). Pupil well-being and teacher well-being are two sides of the same coin; pupil well-being is strongly associated with teacher well-being (Roffey, 2012; Harding et al., 2019; Spilt et al., 2011). This might be why teacher well-being is increasingly gaining (overdue) focus in current research (Vesely et al., 2014). Keywords: Newly arrived migrant pupils, wellbeing, diversity, care, teacher pedagogies.