October 2021 – December 2024

The project was a comparative qualitative study that involved student teachers from three Nordic countries: Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The main goals of this study were to provide insights into student teachers’ perceptions of multicultural education and to analyse how well they were prepared to work in culturally diverse classrooms. Additionally, it was important to find out whether student teachers considered multicultural education to be a functional framework for successful teaching practices or they viewed it as a perfect utopia, that was nearly impossible to put in practice.

The findings from the project may help to inform and enhance teacher education, which is responsible for preparing future teachers to engage successfully with the complex dynamics of cultural and linguistic diversity that characterise contemporary classrooms.

This project was funded by the University of Inland Norway.

Participants:

• 10 student teachers from two universities in Iceland
• 12 student teachers from four universities in Norway
• 14 student teachers from three university colleges in Denmark
• 6 teacher educators from three university colleges in Denmark

Methodology:

• Qualitative in-depth interviews with the participants
• Document analysis of legal acts and policies concerning teacher education
• Content analysis of teacher education programmes in the participating universities / university colleges

Publications (sorted by research location)

Denmark

Benediktsson, A. I. (2025). Who’s afraid of education? An ethnodrama in four acts. Nordic journal of comparative and international education (NJCIE), 9(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.6196

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). Kulturelt ansvarlig didaktik: Lærerstuderendes perspektiver og erfaringer. Studier i læreruddannelse og -profession, 9(2), 8–32. https://doi.org/10.7146/lup.v9i2.141084

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). Sustaining the ethos of togetherness in multicultural schools in Denmark: Student teachers’ reflections and experiences. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(5), 930–944. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2360921

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). Teacher educators’ endeavours to enhance students’ cultural competence: A qualitative study within Danish teacher education. In Education, 29(2), 78–97. https://doi.org/10.37119/ojs2024.v29i2.754

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). “We have three common enemies”: Student teachers’ perspectives on existing prejudice in Danish multicultural schools. In V. Tavares & T.-A. Skrefsrud (Eds.), Critical and Creative Engagements with Diversity in Nordic Education (pp. 25–44). Lexington Books. Click here to read the chapter

Iceland

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). Menningarmiðaðar kennsluaðferðir: Reynsla íslenskra kennaranema. Netla – Veftímarit um uppeldi og menntun, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.24270/netla.2024/5

Benediktsson, A. I. (2023). Navigating the complexity of theory: Exploring Icelandic student teachers’ perspectives on supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in compulsory schooling. International Journal of Educational Research, 120, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102201

Benediktsson, A. I. (2023). Reception of newly arrived immigrant schoolchildren in Iceland: Exploring challenges and dilemmas concerning teaching and assessment practices. Education Inquiry, 16(3), 508–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2023.2262204 

Norway

Benediktsson, A. I. (2025). Preparing for cultural and linguistic diversity in Norwegian compulsory schools: Student teachers’ encounters with multicultural education. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, 11(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.23865/ntpk.v11.6440

Benediktsson, A. I., & Eek, M. (2025). Fra teori til praksis: Lærerstudenters møte med språklig mangfold i norsk grunnskole. Acta Didactica Norden, 19(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.5617/adno.11877

Tavares, V., & Benediktsson, A. I. (2025). Between asset and deficit, a proxy to race and existing in the other: Pre-service teachers’ perspectives on diversity. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2564322

Tavares, V., & Benediktsson, A. I. (2025). Is diversity intersectional? Student teachers’ perspectives of learning in Norwegian teacher education. In V. Tavares (Ed.), Intersectional perspectives on equality and social justice in Norwegian higher education (pp. 119–137). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003528647-10

Benediktsson, A. I., & Tavares, V. (2024). Family-school cooperation in multicultural schools: A missing piece in teacher education in Norway. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 33(4), 1261–1276. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2024.2356595

Benediktsson, A. I. (2022). The place of multicultural education in legal acts concerning teacher education in Norway. Multicultural Education Review, 14(4), 228–242.  https://doi.org/10.1080/2005615X.2023.2164972

Denmark and Iceland

Benediktsson, A. I. (2023). Culturally responsive assessment in compulsory schooling in Denmark and Iceland: An illusion or a reality? A comparative study of student teachers’ experiences and perspectives. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 7(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.5392

Denmark, Iceland, and Norway

Benediktsson, A. I. (2024). Intercultural family-school cooperation and the dilemma of involving child language brokers versus professional interpreters. Educational Review, 77(6), 1953–1970. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2024.2379433

SAMMENDRAG PÅ DANSK

SAMMENDRAG PÅ NORSK

ÁGRIP Á ÍSLENSKU

STRESZCZENIE PO POLSKU

РЕЗЮМЕ НА РУССКОМ

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