Reflecting on Educational Experiences: An Analysis of Two Migrant Students’ Stories

This chapter reports on data from a study exploring migrant students' experiences with education across cultures. Through semi-structured interviews with two teacher students, we aimed to contribute to the students' construction of their educational histories in order to to learn more about what it is like to be a migrant student in the Norwegian educational system. We focused on the environment in which the students were socialised, their descriptions of the development of their lives and the choices they have made while in the school system. The stories of Babet and Yasmin show two students who have approached their past and present educational challenges and opportunities in quite different ways. By asking the students to tell their stories, we hoped they would become aware of and learn about their choices and their paths through the educational system. Students' feelings of self-efficacy might also be increased through reflecting on their experiences. To capture the significance of the students' educational experiences, we adopted a narrative inquiry approach. In addition, teachers can benefit from developing an awareness and interest in students' stories and from reflecting on new possibilities for improving learning and building knowledge in their classrooms. This chapter focuses on data from a study exploring migrant students' experiences with education across cultures. It aims to contribute to the students' construction of their educational histories in order to learn more about what it is like to be a migrant student in the Norwegian educational system. The chapter focuses on the environment in which the students were socialised, their descriptions of the development of their lives, and the choices they have made while in the school system. It discusses a narrative inquiry approach to capture the significance of the students' educational experiences. The literature review centred around studies on migration students' educational experiences and the potential cognitive and metacognitive benefits and challenges of being bi- or multilingual. The meta-analysis of Adesope and his colleagues suggest that the early onset of second language is more likely to be associated with greater metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness.