Browsing by Author "Ouni, Amin"

Objectives. The objective of this study is to find out what kind of conflicts occur in an multicultural school environment and what kind of means do the pupils have to solve these conflicts. This study also focuses on the ways in which pupils speak about multiculturalism. Previous studies has proven that the concept of otherness is essentially associated with the concept of multiculturalism. The concept of otherness is the backbone of the theory part of this study. The theoretical framework of this study is formed by concepts and theories associated with multiculturalism, otherness and social categories and by previous studies that covers minorities. The research questions of this study are: What kind of conflicts occur in an multicultural school environment? What kind of means do the pupils have to solve these conflicts? Methods. This is a qualitative case study. The case was a sixth grade class of a school located in the eastern part of Helsinki. The research data was collected with theme interviews. Fifteen pupils from the class had the permission to participate in the study. The interviews were held in three groups of five pupils. The data was analysed with content analysis method by looking for comments that fit certain themes. The content analysis was data driven. Results and conclusions. According to the data the different backgrounds of pupils are not emphasized in an multicultural school environment. Deeper analysis of the discussion around conflicts however highlighted discriminatory and racist behaviour towards pupils of minority groups. The interviewees had an positive attitude towards multiculturalism however there was features that generate and maintain otherness in the discourse of some of the interviewees. The conflicts that occur in an multicultural school environment seem to be affected by the pupils different backgrounds. The most worrying finding was that how many of these conflicts escalated to a fistfight. This is a interpretative case study so if these results were applied to practise the study should have a different manner of an approach.