If you can teach there you can teach anywhere : A mixed methods study into immigrant teacher’s integration to the Swedish compulsory school curriculum

Sammanfattning: In recent times there has been an increase in global migration of workers in many sectors. The teaching profession has not been immune to this and there is a growing number of teachers moving to other countries to work. In this mixed methods study, I have investigated how teachers from overseas experience their transition to working in Sweden. I sought to find out what overseas teacher induction looked like in Sweden and whether this was done in a systematic way.    Previous research in Sweden has tended to treat teachers from overseas as a single, homogenous group. It has focused mainly on the experiences of those teachers who partake in formal teacher education programs in Swedish universities. However, during this study, it became apparent that there is a significantly large group of teachers from overseas who do not access such programs and have no access to any form of systematic introductory period. Yet under the current system this group can work in Swedish schools and in many cases obtain the Swedish teaching license.   A mixed methods approach allowed me to investigate this problem from different perspectives. Such an approach enabled me to investigate not only to what extent teachers new to Sweden had access to systematic introductory training but also how the teachers experienced their introductory period. Drawing on research concerning overseas teachers from other countries and interviews with overseas teachers in Sweden, I have identified that there is a need for these teachers to undergo a more formal induction period as well as some key areas of training that should be included in such a program.