to foster p. Medithe come and are heir skills use this ons, supogue and operation ons need rder to rer up misaboration.
challenge l services n the fact ndividual he level of y between voluntary nd the inch themes e cultural be slight. for social rs in comlogue can staff conanisationproblem.
ound
ourhood children ects that on to the y school. bout the eason for everal of children ms, poor mic situn school art in the e school. nformaty of the % of the ds. Some d experio work in is a post nt pupils teaching ool sees d to their s. On the n to have
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help with their homework in their language, stricter discipline, greater representation of diversity at the school, and teaching methods appropriate to their skill levels.
Recommendations
• The institution should work primarily with professional mediators and ensure that they have the necessary skills.
Analysis of the situation The situation reveals a real gulf between parents and the school caused by a language barrier, an unequal power relationship and cultural differences. The parents are unhappy about the lack of discipline at school, which is unprecedented in their country of origin. They are unable to help their children to do their homework because of their own lack of education and/or inadequate command of Swedish.
• The institution should clarify the mediation framework, what is expected of the mediator, and collaboration with the mediator.
They expect the school to help the children, while the school says the help is already available. The teachers with an immigrant background do not have formal qualifications that would allow them to give support and adapt the traditional teaching. The communication problems between schools and parents concern everyday information, information on parent-teacher meetings and advice for parents. It is important for the school, which is a place of education and socialisation, to be able to provide qualified people to support and help children in their education.
• The institution should encourage the mediator to pass on his or her observations insofar as institutional changes may be advisable.
• The institution should be able to take advantage of the mediator’s access to community resources (links with associations, knowledge of networks and of one or more communities, etc.).
• The institution should designate a body to study suggestions for improvements or changes relating to service quality, solving recurrent problems, transfer of know-how, etc. • The institution should promote official recognition of the mediator’s work and clarify his or her actual role within the institution.
Negotiation with the institution The mediator explains to the institution his activities and the networks established by his informal working methods outside the school. His colleagues at Employment and Integration, the district management team, and local politicians recognise the liaison working method (Malmö, 2001). After obtaining the agreement of the school, the district director of Employment and Integration and the head teacher organise a meeting to discuss new solutions. This meeting, facilitated by the mediator, results in several initiatives: greater recognition of the school’s multicultural environment, solutions for increased parental participation in school meetings, and adult education programmes. Two new schools are invited to co-operate in working out new approaches to adult education.
• Mediators should develop their critical abilities to call into question their experience, practice and ties to their networks.
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A B C D
• Mediators should check the quality of their work by asking for feedback and talking about their mediation to colleagues.
E F
Solutions The mediator’s action enabled decisions to be taken: help with homework organised by district resources; employment of six teachers with immigrant backgrounds funded by the Metropolitan Initiative; intensive courses for most of the 40 immigrant teachers who lived in the region; teaching of Swedish to adult immigrants in their own language.
G 3 91
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Translation, mediation and assessment: communication tools