How integration of migrant children can succeed

by Marita Brune-Koch

A(4 April 2023) lmost every day you can read or hear in all the media about major problems in schools, about a decline in pupils’ performance (especially in Germany), about violence against fellow pupils and teachers, and about serious teacher shortages.

In search for the causes of all these problems one factor comes up again and again, namely integration. A large part of the pupils are of foreign origin, many do not speak the language and therefore can hardly be integrated. Recently, youth riots, mainly in Germany, startled the public. Police officers and firemen were attacked and injured, some of them seriously. The perpetrators were mainly youths of Arab origin.

Logically, this gives rise to discussions about the reasons for all these problems and what can be done about them. Most of all, more money is demanded for remedial courses, integration measures, language courses, etc. In Switzerland, too, we run the risk that integration will no longer be possible as smoothly as before.

Here too, a lot is offered to people who have come to our country. However, practitioners in schools and kindergartens also know that the offers are often not taken up by those who need them most. Beatrice Reimann,¹ an experienced kindergarten teacher, therefore took matters into her own hands.

In a local kindergarten she teaches 19 children aged four to six, 70% of whom have a migration background. Most of them speak little German or Swiss German. As a rule, the parents of these children have little schooling and hardly know our school system. When the kindergarten teacher asks the children on Monday what they did over the weekend, they tell her that they were at home watching TV, gaming or playing outside.

Families keep to themselves

Usually, their parents cannot afford to take their children to the zoo, to the mountains or to a museum. These same children do not join any sports clubs or participate in activities outside the kindergarten.

The girls and boys are thus missing out on important experiences and a variety of encounters. As a result, they can hardly make new contacts with children outside the family and the kindergarten class, they have little opportunity to practise the German language, which is foreign to them or to familiarise themselves with our culture, with our way of life. Outside the kindergarten, they keep to themselves in their families and the corresponding cultural circle, speaking the native language of their parents. – This is how integration can’t work.

Leisure activities are hardly taken advantage of

In the community there are many leisure activities offered to children of this age group. Beatrice Reimann, the kindergarten teacher, has observed that the parents do not take advantage of these offers. They do not register their children in any clubs, rarely allow them to participate in sporting and social events or in other activities in the community. Not even when the offers are free and easy for the children to reach.

So Ms. Reimann took matters into her own hands. She drew up a list of free or low-cost leisure activities for kindergarten children in the school community: reading afternoons in the town library, participation in groups of boy scouts and girl scouts or girl guides, a children’s and youth choir that gives concerts on special occasions, a town run in which young children can also participate, handicraft afternoons organised by a parents’ circle or children’s gymnastics. A rich and varied list.

Crucial: the personal talk

However, Ms. Reimann does not simply hand the list to the parents, nor does she give it to the children to take home. She knows from experience that such written messages are usually filed away, at best. No, she seeks personal contact with the parents. She invites each parent or couple for a talk. She explains to them how important it is that their children integrate by taking part in such activities. That in this way they would practise our language and feel at home in the community when they have pleasant and fun leisure experiences with other children. This would help them also to become familiar with our language. All this, Ms. Reimann explains, is a basic condition for a good start and success in school. This is very important to most parents of children who have immigrated to our country. Even if they themselves may not speak the language well, do not feel so confident in our culture and are not familiar with our customs, this is what they absolutely want for their children: success at school for a good start in life!

Ms. Reimann knows this well from her professional experience. On this basis, she discusses the various offers with the parents. During the meeting, she finds out where there is still a lack of understanding, where she needs to explain things differently. She can respond to the individual parents, clear up misunderstandings and encourage them to accept the offers. The kindergarten teacher helps the parents in registering their children for the various activities. The parents are happy to engage in these exchanges, they feel appreciated because they sense Ms. Reimann’s concern to give their children a good start.

Most parents accept the offer

After a few days, the kindergarten teacher enquires if the registration has worked out. The success proves her right: most parents register their child for one of the activities. Ms. Reimann also speaks with the children about their experiences in the choir, in the scouts or in the sports club and whether they like it. The girls and boys are usually very enthusiastic and proud to be able to tell what they do outside the kindergarten.

Ms. Reimann also designs her lessons in such a way that the integration into the community and into our everyday life is deepened. She chooses real-world topics such as the fire brigade, the farm, chickens, the different seasons or the zoo, and so on She organises activities such as visits to the fire brigade in the community, a trip to the zoo, making apple juice on a farm, skating on ice or field trips to the forest, baking muffins for the whole family or hatching chicken eggs in the incubator. In this way, it provides children with many practical and real-life experiences and introduces them to our culture in an exciting way.

And all this is possible without expensive information campaigns, glossy brochures and information tools. Speaking from person to person is not only free, but above all it is the most effective means of getting people to cooperate. Educators should be given time to do this.

(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)

1 Pseudonym. Name is known to the editors.