The Key Role of the School Principal’s Leadership in the Schooling of Newly Arrived Immigrant Pupils in Sweden <br/>—Experiences from an Interactive Action Research Project

Abstract

When newly immigrated children and young people begin school in Sweden, certain challenges arise. These may result from weak Swedish-language skills and different schooling backgrounds, as well as organizational and pedagogical limitations in the schools. This generates demands on school leaders to lead and develop the organization and teachers competences to meet these pupils’ needs. This situation was behind the initiation of the project “New Immigrants and Learning—Competence Development for Teachers and School Principals.” The project ran in schools in four Swedish municipalities, its aim was to develop leadership, organizational and pedagogical skills that would facilitate the schooling and integration of newly arrived pupils. This article aims to describe and discuss a Participant Action Research (PAR) based on a think tank and research circles, drawing special attention to the role of the school leaders. It will also examine whether the research circles and the project overall served to develop educational and intercultural leadership, organizational conditions, collegial learning, pedagogical methods and competence in terms of schooling for this pupil group.