Intercultural Education in Switzerland

Abstract

Before analysing the circumstances leading to the emergence of intercultural education in Switzerland, it would first be useful to explain how the country has dealt with migration. It bears, indeed, all the hallmarks of a paradox. In the first place, the country welcomes and has welcomed in the past a large number of immigrants coming for the most part from Southern Europe, but also from other regions of the world (D’Amato, 2008). This relatively ancient immigration contributed to the country’s economic prosperity. Secondly, the country’s attitude in relation to immigration has gone through periods of closing the borders and subsequently reopening them again. Thus, Switzerland has modified and adapted its policy on migration on several occasions, particularly concerning the management of the flow of migrating people (D’Amato, 2008).

Educational practice in Switzerland: Searching for diversity-engaged leadership

“…One questioned whether diversity is an important issue that needs attention or simply exists but is not problematic. The literature clearly suggests that school leaders should openly address diversity and feelings and beliefs around it for the benefit of students and staff (Akkari et al, 2011; Amiot et al, 2020; Clapper, 2015; Moorosi, 2020; Santamaría, 2014). Some school leaders in this study were hesitatingly aligned with this suggestion, stating that, “diversity is good” (L1), “differences must be noted” (L3), “we should accept differences” (L1), and “schools should take diversity into account” (L2).…”

“…One explained that defining oneself by skin color causes an automatic separation from others (L5). This leader felt that the identity discourse is exclusionary and causes rather than reduces problems among students; such a perspective then tends to rest on a default assimilationist approach (Akkari et al, 2011). Similarly, the leader prefers to not name racism as a source of conflict, believing that one human race supersedes racial categorization.…”

“…Similar to teacher training in Switzerland (Akkari et al, 2011), leaders have not received multicultural or intercultural or anti-racist training, hampering their ability to engage in diversity, even when (minimally) aware of it. Most of our participants noted that to date there is no coverage of these topics in school leader training, which takes more of a business management approach, and indicated that they would benefit from additional training on diversity (L1, L2, L3, L6), and even that they would be “willing to change something if it is necessary” (L2).…”

“…We know that teachers are minimally exposed to multicultural education theory and practice in Switzerland and that they have basic levels of intercultural competence (Polat and Ogay Barka, 2014). Akkari et al (2011) summarized their empirical findings from teachers in Geneva this way: “Not only do Swiss teachers conceive diversity in limited terms of students’ belonging to different cultures and needing to comply with the dominant culture, but in addition, there is little room for taking into account the sociopolitical situation linked to international migrations and social inequalities” (p. 9). We know much less about the preparation of school leaders in this area, as educational leadership is largely embedded in “a structural management logic that is still hesitant within a teaching community in which the notion of leadership remains a hidden dimension” (Perrenoud and Tulowitzki, 2021: 1).…”