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With reference to the power-critical research of migration pedagogy, this contribution of non-empirical research theoretically discusses the conditions under which numerous school-age multilingual children with German as a Second Language (GSL) pursue their education in the Austrian school system. From a systems theory perspective, the article focuses on the attitudes of teacher candidates towards their largely multilingual student body in Vienna and raises questions about the habitualization of German as a target language and the barriers to the education of multilingual students, who often come from socio-economically and culturally disadvantaged backgrounds in Vienna.

This article investigates mother tongue instruction (MTI) in Sweden and Denmark in a historical, comparative perspective, with a view to accounting for key differences in language policy enacted in educational fields. Whereas in Sweden, MTI is offered to linguistic minority children irrespective of their linguistic and ethnic backgrounds, in Denmark the right to state-sponsored MTI has been abolished for children of non-European descent. Moreover, while the policies of both states devalue skills in mother tongues other than the legitimate language of each society, this position is more pronounced in the Danish context. The article explores the two state’s position on MTI, as expressed in policy as well as in discourse produced in the political and academic field of each state. It subscribes to Pierre Bourdieu’s framework, within which state policy is conceived as the product of historical struggle and cross-field effects. The analysis shows that the national differences in MTI exist because of the differing ways in which agents from the academic vis-à-vis the political field have succeeded in imposing their visions in the bureaucratic field from which policies are produced. Ultimately, this circumstance explains why the Swedish discussion on MTI may be characterized as having been academically founded, while the Danish discussion has remained a matter of political consideration. In the latter case, we argue, it is particularly tangible that MTI is a politicized object of struggle, where agents seek to control the exchange rate of linguistic resources and, in effect, the social worth of different speakers.

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the motivations that key policy documents have put forward as justifications for Sweden’s mother-tongue instruction in immigrant and historical minority languages as a multicultural policy that has endured for nearly half a century. The diachronic development of these motivations is analysed in four periods and interpreted with the help of Ruiz’s ( 1984 ) orientations in language planning. The corpus consists of 26 key policy documents making up the coordinative discourse among policy actors. Based on an innovative mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the motivations are presented in a three-tiered taxonomy consisting of motivational units, themes and language-planning orientations. The results point to both continuity and change in how mother-tongue instruction has been justified over time. Confirming previous research, the results show that the language-as-resource orientation has played a central role in justifying both the establishment and the maintenance of mother-tongue instruction in Sweden and that language as right complemented this orientation. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the language-as-problem orientation need not always be detrimental to bilingualism and minority-language maintenance. Contrary to some claims in the literature, it is argued that language as extrinsic resource is not necessarily underpinned by neoliberalism, as there are also social liberal and conservative inroads to this orientation. The paper concludes that although the language-as-resource orientation plays an indispensable role in supporting bilingualism in education, not only the language-as-right orientation but also the language-as-problem orientation should not be neglected.

For many students with migrant backgrounds and newly arrived students, their mother tongue is not only a knowledge and a school grade issue, but also a reflection of their identity and a sense of belonging, which are shaped by political structures. In this article, we analyze the role of mother tongue in Swedish policy documents and the way teachers and students see the role mother tongue in two Swedish schools: how do school professionals and students view the importance of mother tongue? What measures are taken to encourage the mother tongues of students with a migration background and newly arrived students? What are the implications of and obstacles to studying one’s mother tongue? We will look at levers of integration where school staff, as well as policy documents, encourage modes of incorporation, but also do identify obstacles concerning the practice of mother tongue instruction. Our article shows that although students long for a double cultural belonging, the policy documents are ambiguous and create an unclear promise for migrant students and their mother tongue teachers concerning multicultural incorporation. In practice, they have little evidence that maintaining their cultural background represents a strong value in Sweden. Ambiguous attitude towards mother tongue can be seen as a symbolic response to Sweden as a country which took a turn regarding its migration policy. The integration of residents with a migrant background is constantly questioned in the media and became a central issue in political debates. The implementation of mother tongue instruction reflects Sweden’s current state of discussing migration concerning integration policies somewhere between recognition and stigmatization. The data are drawn from student interviews, interviews with mother tongue teachers, and field notes in two schools in one of the biggest cities in Sweden.

Migration to Scandinavia has taken place quite similarly in Sweden and Denmark since the Second World War. However, from the 1980s onwards, Sweden and Denmark have become increasingly dissimilar in terms of migration policy, which went hand in hand with education policy for newcomers. Mother tongue instruction for newcomers may improve the process of integration and social cohesion; nevertheless, this is provided for differently in Sweden and Denmark. This study takes into account different social dynamics in order to research what the position of mother tongue instruction is in policy documents and media discourse in both Sweden and Denmark, to determine what the effects of mother tongue instruction are, and subsequently to figure out what is necessary to find the balance between mobility and inclusion – all these for creating further social cohesion and avoiding segregation.