The Road From Damascus: New Arrival Immigrant Families and The Swedish Preschool

The study investigates what type of perceptions newly immigrated families have of Swedish kindergartens and how these perceptions are reflected in the Swedish kindergarten policy discourse over the past 50 years. The research question is: What were the main themes in the representations of the newly arrived families, and did these align with the state kindergarten policy discourse?

The study shows that the parents emphasise language learning and belonging in their perceptions of kindergarten. While state discourse looks at immigrant children’s language learning and belonging as needs related to their migration experience, the parents focus on their children’s development and well-being. The study highlights the need for culturally conscious work that takes common interests into account rather than focusing on differences between parties. The discussion includes how conflicting ideals exist in parallel in Swedish politics.

The study is based on a systematic review of political texts published from the 1970s until 2020. In addition, the data consist of 19 texts written by Syrian immigrant families. Language analysis is key, focusing on verbs, pronouns and adjectives to understand representations of relational and action processes as well as social actors.

Bohme Shomary, W. (2022). The Road From Damascus: New Arrival Immigrant Families and The Swedish Preschool. Akademisk avhandling. Stockholms universitet.