Children’s Multilingualism in Inclusive Preschools in Iceland

Abstract

This research project aims to explore children’s multilingualism and how children’s preschools build on the language resources which families and children bring to their preschools. Research has shown that children actively create their own knowledge and can express themselves regarding their views on language learning and that each child has a unique bilingual or multilingual experience. This qualitative research study contributes to in-depth research with children on their multilingual experiences as described by their parents, preschool teachers and principals. Data was collected from 2022 to 2025 in semi-structured interviews with six parents, their children’s preschool teachers and principals in three preschools in Iceland. The findings indicate that the parents value their children’s language repertoire and use diverse tools to support their children’s multilingualism. The teachers in the study are all interested in supporting the children’s multilingualism, although some of them claim that they lack knowledge, training, and support in implementing multilingual practices. The children are active agents in developing language policies and practices in their families. They contribute to their families’ language practices with their input, ideas, choices, and language preferences. Although Icelandic is the main language used in the preschools, the children, supported by their teachers and principals, have the opportunity and agency to develop their multilingualism. The research findings provide practitioners, policy makers and parents with suggestions as to how children can and will benefit from support in maintaining their heritage languages. More structured collaboration and policy guidance are likely to strengthen children’s multilingualism.

1. Introduction

Iceland has seen rapidly changing demographics in recent decades, mainly as a result of immigration. The population of Iceland has become increasingly diverse in terms of backgrounds, cultures and languages. This is reflected in the education system, where in 2023, around 16.6% of all preschool children (Statistics Iceland, 2025a) and 15.5% of all compulsory school pupils had heritage languages (HLs) other than Icelandic (Statistics Iceland, 2025b). Heritage language in this article refers to any language spoken by an individual, family, or group other than the dominant or official languages (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2014).

Municipalities in Iceland operate preschools and compulsory schools. These school levels develop their own educational policies, and are also obliged to adhere to national education policies and national curriculum guides (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, n.d.). Children in Iceland begin preschool at the age of 1–2 years old on average and attend until the age of 5 or 6. Most children in Iceland attend preschools although it is not compulsory. Compulsory schooling starts in grade 1 at the ages of 5 or 6. It includes ten grades, with children completing compulsory school at the age of 16. Educational policies and curriculum guidelines in Iceland generally emphasize equity and inclusion (Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, n.d.).

The number of children in Iceland who speak multiple languages on a daily basis at home and in school is growing rapidly. Thus, the number of families speaking three languages at home is also growing according to statistics, English often being one of these languages. Icelandic is the main language of teaching at all levels in the Icelandic education system. Other heritage languages are generally respected, and some schools emphasize linguistically and culturally responsive practices (Ragnarsdóttir, 2021a, 2021b). However, heritage languages are generally not taught within mainstream education in Icelandic pre- and compulsory schools. A few schools and municipalities have taken the initiative to hire HL teachers to teach and support HLs after school hours. HL teaching in Iceland is therefore primarily organized by and within families who address this task in various ways. Grassroot organizations in Iceland, such as Móðurmál: The Association on Bilingualism (Móðurmál, n.d.), offer HL education outside schools. Móðurmál currently offers HL instruction in around 20 different languages.

The curriculum guides for preschools and compulsory schools in Iceland stipulate that children’s opportunities for education should be equal regardless of each individual’s abilities and circumstances. For example, in the national curriculum guide for compulsory school (Ministry of Education and Children, n.d.-b), it is stated that “Opportunities should be equal regardless of each individual’s abilities and circumstances. It is therefore ensured that opportunities do not depend on whether a student is of Icelandic or foreign origin.” Furthermore, it is stated in the same curriculum guide that the “Responsibility for the student’s Icelandic learning lies with school administrators, supervising teachers, Icelandic teachers, all other teachers and parents, and these parties need to work together to ensure that the learning is purposeful.” However, related to students’ heritage languages, it is stated that “The school should also educate parents about the benefits of maintaining and cultivating their children’s mother tongue. They should be informed about ways they can support their children’s learning, in accordance with the law.” In spite of this, many teachers claim to be unprepared to support parents in maintaining and teaching their children’s heritage languages (Benediktsson et al., 2025; Ragnarsdóttir, 2023, 2024).

The curriculum for preschool (Ministry of Education and Children, n.d.-a) similarly states that in preschools, everyone should “… work towards equal opportunities for children regardless of their race, colour, sex, language, religion, political opinions, ancestry, disability, social status or other circumstances or the status or activities of their parents to address a variety of issues.”

Thus, while educational policies and national curriculum guides for preschool and compulsory school levels in Iceland emphasize equity and inclusion, the responsibility of maintaining heritage languages lies mainly with the parents.

This aim of this article is to explore children’s multilingualism and how children’s preschools build on the language resources that families and children bring to the preschools. The article draws on data from in-depth qualitative research with parents on their children’s multilingual experience and how preschools respond to children’s multilingualism. The article adds to gaps in research on multilingual families, children and preschools, as well as home–preschool collaboration related to multilingualism, by providing in-depth interview data from parents, preschool principals and teachers.

2. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review

The theoretical framework includes the language agency of multilingual children (Said & Hua, 2017) and their development of multiple languages. According to Lanza (2007), children should be viewed as active social agents who contribute to adult society, while at the same time producing their own culture. Research has shown that children actively create their own knowledge and can express their own views on language learning (Palviainen & Curdt-Christiansen, 2022), thus contributing to family language policy (Smith-Christmas, 2021; Spolsky, 2004). Wilson (2020) furthermore emphasizes the unique character of every child’s bilingual experience. Previous research (Ragnarsdóttir, 2023) has revealed that when educational institutions acknowledge children’s unique bi- or multilingual experiences, they also acknowledge the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism for children and their families. The benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism have been addressed by many scholars. Thus, Cummins (2021) has noted that because “bilingual children must develop cognitive mechanisms for controlling which of their languages gets used in particular contexts, they develop increased capacity for attending to external stimuli …” (p. 15). Cummins adds that this capacity may result in better performance on other cognitive tasks. He also notes that bilingual children may outperform their monolingual counterparts on certain tasks. Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) has similarly pointed out that children who are learning two languages show an advantage in a number of cognitive and language-processing skills compared to monolingual children. Furthermore, referring to research, she notes that bilingual children are “flexible thinkers, have good working memories for storing and processing information, and are better able to deal with distractions than monolingual children.” (p. 28).

Theories and research on diverse culturally and linguistically responsive educational practices in educational settings (J. A. Banks, 2013; Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2004; Gay, 2010; Nieto, 2010) that support multilingual children, including home–school collaboration (Bergroth & Palviainen, 2016; Hujala et al., 2009; Ragnarsdóttir, 2024; Benediktsson et al., 2025), also underpin this research. Nieto (2010) and J. A. Banks (2013), writing about multicultural education, have both emphasized that schools need to critically address inequalities in educational contexts and ensure social justice, dialogue, equality and empowerment for their students and teachers.

According to Gay (2010), culturally responsive teaching entails building on the cultural knowledge and prior experiences of diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and meaningful and effective for them. Teachers who adhere to this approach have a holistic approach towards children rather than focusing on their limited ability or deficit. Related to culturally responsive teaching are approaches of bi- and multilingualism in teaching and linguistically appropriate educational practices (see, for example, Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012; Cummins, 2004; García & Wei, 2014; Ragnarsdóttir, 2024).

In his writing (Cummins, 2001), Jim Cummins emphasized that schools need to develop ways to implement socially just and inclusive practices where diverse backgrounds and identities are welcomed in order to respond to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children and their families. In his recent book (Cummins, 2021), Cummins further elaborates on evidence-based instructional practices for learners who are linguistically diverse. These include:

• Scaffold instruction to support students’ language comprehension and production;
• Activate students’ existing background knowledge and build new background knowledge as needed;
• Teach academic language explicitly;
• Enable students to use their L1 as a cognitive resource either through bilingual education or within English-medium programmes (p. 102).

In line with Cummins, writing on preschool settings, Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) argued that monolingual practices that are implemented in multilingual settings can silence immigrant children’s voices. Monolingual practices can have serious consequences for multilingual children, as they may feel that their language has no meaning and that their way of speaking is less important than that of the children speaking the majority language of the preschool. Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) further emphasizes that inclusive linguistic appropriate practices (LAP) are needed to enhance the learning of all children in linguistically and culturally diverse learning contexts. Similarly, García and Kleifgen (2010) have maintained that a rigorous and meaningful education for emergent bilinguals will always include and use the home language as much as possible. Furthermore, they maintain that all children, regardless of their language background, need to develop bi- or plurilingual abilities to meet the communicative challenges of the 21st century.

However, the choice of practices is not always up to teachers but rather stipulated in curricula or educational policies. Nieto (2010) thus notes that teachers often do not have freedom of choice when it comes to developing innovative practices. Policies or social contexts that are difficult to change may restrict their freedom to choose or develop their practices. However, culturally and linguistically responsive teachers can create inclusive learning communities that build on children’s backgrounds, knowledge and experiences, and also welcome their families. C. A. M. Banks (2013) has maintained that while the diversity of parent and community groups can complicate parent involvement in schools, their involvement is highly important as they can provide teachers and schools with important perspectives on their children. Both families and schools can benefit from parents’ involvement. Furthermore, active home–school collaboration can counteract the marginalization of minority groups such as immigrant families (Ragnarsdóttir, 2021a).

3. Method

The project is a qualitative case study (Braun & Clarke, 2013) with six parents in six families.

The participating families (see Table 1) live in three municipalities in Iceland, where their children (age 3–5) attend preschools, one in each municipality. The children and families were chosen for this article from a larger sample of families with children at different school levels in a research project, as the children all attend preschools and are in a similar age group. The participants in the preschools were teachers who were heads of departments and principals in each of the three preschools.

Table 1. Overview of the six families, children and preschools.

Families	Background	Residence	Main Languages Spoken at Home	Children and Preschools
Family 1	Romanian. In Iceland since 2017.	Small municipality in South Iceland	Romanian	Boy in P1—age 4. Born in Iceland.
Family 2	Arabic. In Iceland since 2023.	Small municipality in South Iceland	Arabic	Girl in P1—age 3. Born abroad.
Family 3	Romanian In Iceland since 2018.	Small municipality in Southwest Iceland	Romanian	Boy in P2—age 5. Born in Iceland.
Family 4	Arabic. In Iceland since 2020.	Small municipality in Southwest Iceland	Arabic	Boy in P2—age 5. Born abroad.
Family 5	Nepalese. In Iceland since 2010.	Town in Southwest Iceland	Nepalese, Icelandic	Boy in P3—age 4. Born in Iceland.
Family 6	Polish. In Iceland since 2012.	Town in Southwest Iceland	Polish	Boy in P3—age 5. Born in Iceland.

As the research project was part of a larger research study that lasted for a total of four years, data was collected from 2022 to 2025 in semi-structured interviews with six parents and their children’s preschool teachers and principals in three preschools in Iceland. Semi-structured interviews were selected as a tool to elicit the views of the participants as clearly and accurately as possible (Kvale, 2007). The interview guide developed for interviews with parents included questions related to their background, languages spoken and taught at home, language communities and networks in Iceland, communication with extended family and friends in other countries and cooperation with their children’s preschools. The interview guide developed for interviews with preschool teachers and principals included questions related to their background and education, views on children’s multiple languages and cultures, educational practices, collaboration with parents, and professional development.

The interviews with the parents were conducted either in their homes or in their children’s preschools, depending on their preferences for a location. The interviews with the preschool teachers and principals were conducted in the preschools. The interviews lasted on average one hour.

The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically (Creswell, 2009). First, the author familiarized herself with the data by reading the interviews. Secondly, the interviews were coded by a research team using the complete coding approach with researcher-derived codes applied to the data (Braun & Clarke, 2013). For trustworthiness, the initial codes were re-evaluated and refined, and thematically similar codes grouped into categories and discussed in detail by the research team, before development of the final themes. Excerpts from the interviews conducted in Icelandic were translated into English by the author.

In addition to interviews, policy documents from the municipalities as well as information on the preschools’ policies were collected from the websites of the municipalities and preschools and analyzed.

3.1. Ethics

The project follows the usual ethical practices in relation to research on humans: respect for the rights, interests and dignity of the participants and related persons. The research was carried out in accordance with the Icelandic Data Protection Authority; the Act no. 90/2018 on Data Protection and the Processing of Personal Data and the Code of Research Ethics for Public Higher Education Institutions (2020).

Introductory letters were prepared in different heritage languages spoken by the prospective participants (parents, teachers and principals). When the participants had agreed to take part in the research, it was confirmed that all participants spoke either Icelandic or English. Following this, informed consent forms were developed in Icelandic and English and presented to the participants. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The researchers were aware of their positionality and unequal power positions and took utmost care to approach the participants with respect and understanding.

3.2. The Preschools

Preschool 1 (P1) is a three-department preschool located in a small rural municipality. It accommodates 60 children. The main values of the preschool are respect, well-being, and friendship. Preschool 1 participates in a project focusing on early intervention in language and literacy development. At present, 16 different languages are spoken among the children, and approximately 50% of the student population is of a background other than Icelandic. Nineteen staff members are employed at the preschool, nine of whom are of backgrounds other than Icelandic and some of the employees share heritage languages with the children. The school embraces cultural diversity and multilingualism and cultural diversity. Challenges in supporting children’s diverse language development and Icelandic language acquisition appear to be mostly related to staff shortages. Communication with parents can be described as open and based on mutual trust and respect. The principal actively involves families, particularly newly arrived ones who are still navigating the Icelandic system. The principal ensures that parents are aware of the school’s open-door policy, encouraging them to seek assistance whenever needed.

Preschool 2 (P2) is a four-department preschool located in a small coastal municipality. It is independently operated but receives financial support from the municipality. The preschool accommodates 100 children, of whom 25% have backgrounds other than Icelandic and diverse heritage languages. Data on the number of languages spoken by children are not available. The preschool employs altogether 39 staff members, but information on their backgrounds is not available. The main aim of the preschool is to develop a stable and predictable environment with limited external disturbance where children have enough space to play freely and learn through play. The preschool’s language policy is reflected in the statement “Icelandic for everything.” The preschool actively participates in international projects. The current main focus is on inclusion for children with diverse developmental and cultural backgrounds. As part of this focus and project, the preschool has engaged families in diverse activities, such as inviting parents to visit the preschool to read stories either in their heritage language or in Icelandic.

Preschool 3 (P3) is a three-department preschool located in a large municipality. It has three divisions and around 50 children. Of these, around 90% of the children have heritage languages other than Icelandic. Approximately 20 languages are spoken in the preschool. The staff is also diverse, and around 30% of the staff have heritage languages other than Icelandic. The preschool places a strong emphasis on providing a rich language environment, promoting language development, environmental education, and cultural diversity. The preschool aims to contribute to a stronger self-image in children. The values of preschool 3 are joy, friendship, and respect. It is a culturally diverse preschool that prioritizes language development, social equality, and the overall well-being of everyone involved in the preschool’s activities. The preschool’s educational philosophy is rooted in social constructivism, which draws on philosophy, psychology, sociology, and pedagogy. Well-being, equality, play, democracy, creativity, and language cultivation serve as guiding principles and are integrated into all aspects of the preschool’s work. Preschool 3 emphasizes developing methods and specializing in working with diverse groups of children.

4. Findings and Discussion

The findings indicate that the parents value their children’s language repertoire and use diverse tools to support their children’s multilingualism at home. However, the parents face multiple challenges and in some cases have limited support from their preschools and municipalities in maintaining their children’s heritage languages. The support differs between the preschools and municipalities.

According to their parents, the children are active agents in developing language policies and practices in their families, thus expressing their language agency. They contribute to their families’ language practices and policies with their input, ideas, choices, and language preferences. Although Icelandic is the main language used in the preschools, the children, supported by their teachers and principals, have the opportunity and agency to develop their multilingualism.

Some of the teachers in the study are interested in supporting the children’s multilingualism, but claim that they lack knowledge, training, and support in implementing multilingual practices. Although Icelandic is the main language used in the three preschools, approaches towards children’s multilingualism differ between the preschools. Therefore, the children have different language support from their teachers and principals and different opportunities and amounts of agency in developing their multilingualism.

The main themes derived from the findings are children’s multilingualism and pedagogical approaches in preschools.

4.1. Children’s Multilingualism

Findings from interviews with the parents of children in the three preschools reveal diverse experiences of supporting children’s multilingualism and differences between children in the three preschools. All families emphasize maintaining and teaching their children their heritage languages. Some of the children have made their own choices and have preferences other than those of their parents when it comes to choosing their main languages, thus expressing their language agency and contributing to language use at home as well as family language policy.

A Romanian-speaking father (family 1) in preschool 1 explained how both parents emphasized teaching their son Romanian.

Researcher: So you speak Romanian with your son, and do you find it important to sort of maintain that? Why?

Father: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s normal for, not just for him, for everybody in this world to know his roots. And I think it’s better because you never know in this life when he’s going to need this language … And it’s better for him because if you know the base of Latin language, you can learn more easily. I don’t know, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French or. That is why.

Researcher: But do you find that he is using Icelandic at home … for example?

Father: With the kids, other kids because he’s coming a lot of kids and playing with him and he’s going also to the other kids playing together. In the summertime in our house is kind of kindergarten the second kindergarten to be honest and they … speak Icelandic between them, English depends, you know, it’s very open I mean he switches the language …

Researcher: So, he also speaks English.

Father: He speaks also English.

Researcher: So, when you are at home and you are using Romanian for the ordinary conversation, … do you have any special methods or resources that you use, like books or listening?

Father: I’m trying in the evening to read for him some stories for kids in our language. And all the time I’m trying to correct him, you know, because it’s a little bit hard for him, I think, I don’t know, because I’m not in his situation to go all together with three languages at the same time. And, like, as a grammatic way in Romanian language, it’s not one of the best, you know, but I’m trying to explain to him, I don’t know how much he’s understanding, but I’m trying. I’m trying to be constant, you know, to push him to understanding in the right way.

(Father, family 1)

An Arabic-speaking mother in family 2 explained that her daughter had a difficult time in the beginning when she started preschool 1. Her Icelandic developed slowly, while in the meantime, she learned some English at home:

Mother: She watched youtube like youtube kids. They speak English. So she started to speak English. She sings herself a lot, sometimes I ask her about names of things, words, meanings. She understands a lot. I hear that she used that here in the preschool to talk to the nurses. And that was amazing. And in February, there was a girl (working in the preschool). Her name is (…), she’s from Syria. She used to speak Arabic to her. So she worked as a translator between her and the other nurses. So, it worked.

(Mother, family 2)

Her Icelandic started to improve when she got support from an Arabic-speaking teacher in the preschool.

A Romanian mother (family 3) in preschool 2 explained that the family mainly spoke Romanian at home but both Icelandic and English were spoken at the preschool:

Mother: We speak Romanian at home, and we do tend to play and talk in English because I think it’s a more fun language. I talk to him in Romanian mostly, but English too.

An Arabic-speaking mother (family 4) in preschool 2 explained that it was difficult for her to teach her three children Arabic. She noted:

Umm, they speak Arabic. But when they play together, they speak Icelandic. I told them “only Arabic at home” because they have to learn. In school it’s okay, Icelandic, sure. They tell me “okay” and then they forget.

(Mother, family 4)

She further explained that although she and her husband speak different dialects, their home language is Arabic and it is important for the parents that their children learn it. However, her attempts to teach her children to read and write in Arabic have not worked well. She explained this further in an interview:

Researcher: So, what do you think is the value of Arabic for your children. You say you want to speak only Arabic at home. Why is that important do you think?

Mother: Because it’s our language you know? It’s not good if I go to my family, and my husband’s family. And the kids didn’t know. Yeah, it’s our language. They don’t know how to write or read, just to speak.

Researcher: Will you tell them how, or teach them how to write?

Mother: It’s very hard for them. I tried many times. But I didn’t see any results. So, I stopped.

Researcher: So, are they fluent in Arabic? Do they speak very easily?

Mother: Yeah.

(Mother, family 4)

A Nepalese father (family 5) in preschool 3 reported that the family members speak Nepali at home. The father noted that both parents also speak English and Icelandic. The parents try to speak Nepali with their children to maintain their heritage language. The children speak Nepali to the parents but often speak Icelandic to each other. The father says the children are doing well in speaking Nepali. However, he recognizes that their children’s strongest language had become Icelandic: “The number one language has become Icelandic for them.” Their two children therefore speak a combination of three languages: Nepali, English and Icelandic. Furthermore, the father explained that although they had purchased educational materials and used online resources and TV to teach their children Nepali, it was a challenge and the children could neither read nor write Nepali:

They don’t know how to read and write … they only talk. So, some sentences, they’re not really … right, you know. But still … they’re learning, I hope. … we’re trying to teach them some Nepali, but I think we’re a little late because they have enough to do with Icelandic.

(Father, family 5)

A Polish mother (family 6) in preschool 3 explained that her children, including her son at preschool 3, were learning Polish quickly as they spoke it on a daily basis at home. She also provided educational material for him:

Researcher: The methods, the ways that you helped your boys with Icelandic, Polish and you know? The way that you exposed them to languages.

Mother: No. We just, we just spoke in Polish you know. And I see they just learn the new things so. But I don’t do anything special now with it.

Researcher: With the books, maybe?

Mother: No, we just read. And they start to read words at school of course, but they don’t have, they don’t have any problem to read something, some words in Polish. But I don’t have to sit with them and just learning them. They just know how to, I don’t know.

Researcher: How did they learn to read in Polish?

Mother: I have no, I have no idea because I think for me, Polish is really easy. Because you know, you just read it, read the words how it looks like, you know. So I think maybe that’s the reason. I don’t know. But they don’t have any problem read any words you know in Polish.

(Mother, family 6)

She also noted that her children preferred to use Polish at home, and Icelandic when they were playing outside with other children and at school.

The findings from interviews with the parents indicate that children use multiple languages at home, have their own preferences and make choices regarding which language to use when and with whom, thus implementing their language agency (Said & Hua, 2017). This is in line with Lanza’s (2007) writings that children should be viewed as active social agents who contribute to adult society, while at the same time producing their own culture. Furthermore, the children in the study actively create their own knowledge and language repertoire and express their views on language learning as Palviainen and Curdt-Christiansen (2022) have discussed. It is also clear from the interviews with the parents that every child in this project has a unique bilingual or multilingual experience, which is in line with Wilson’s (2020) writing.

The findings from the parents also reveal differences apparent in the home environment regarding how many languages are used on a daily basis, what approaches and methods the parents apply to support and maintain their children’s heritage languages and what challenges and obstacles they experience.

4.2. Pedagogical Approaches in the Preschools

Findings from interviews with preschool teachers and principals in the three preschools reveal how different their pedagogical approaches are when it comes to children’s multilingualism.

4.2.1. Preschool 1

Preschool 1 has seen an increase in diversity among both children and staff in recent years. English has become frequently used as a common language for communication with parents, as many families come from linguistically varied backgrounds. One challenge is when the newly arrived parents do not speak English and the staff do not speak their heritage languages.

The preschool principal emphasized the approach in the preschool of welcoming diversity and multilingualism. She noted: “But I think it’s okay for the children to speak their native language together”(Principal, preschool 1). The preschool builds on children’s heritage languages in their daily activities and children are encouraged to use their heritage languages during play as long as it does not exclude others. However, the principal also emphasized that the children needed to learn Icelandic to be able to participate in education and society. The principal acknowledged that the multiple heritage languages represented in the preschool could be a challenge, but also an opportunity for learning. One challenge experienced by the principal and teachers was the use of English among the children. She noted: “These children spoke Icelandic as well, but were just choosing English” (Principal, preschool 1). The staff encouraged more use of Icelandic, not least to support inclusion, as not all children spoke English.

The head of department in preschool 1 described how daily activities in the preschool follow a structured yet flexible organization. The children participate in station work twice per week and small-group language-support sessions twice per week. Older children also attend weekly sessions in the gym. Despite this structure, she emphasized the importance of embedding language learning continuously throughout everyday activities through repetition and contextualized support. The principal described their daily practice and approach as follows: “I think the most important thing is to always talk to children while they are playing, just sit on the floor, be with them, observe.” (Principal, preschool 1).

The principal in preschool 1 is interested in developing a multilingual library within the preschool, containing books in multiple languages. Her intention is that families could borrow them or they could be used in the preschool to encourage children to share stories in their heritage languages. Parents are also encouraged to bring books from home, even if the teachers do not understand the language, as looking at pictures together could also encourage storytelling and cultural exchange. She noted: “The book doesn’t have to be in Icelandic; we’ll look at the pictures.” She also reported that the preschool receives support for linguistically and culturally diverse children from the municipality. Furthermore, the principal aimed to strengthen heritage language support within the preschool in collaboration with the parents. However, this has proven difficult due to parents’ work. It has also been a challenge to recruit a teacher to support multilingual development and literacy, as no qualified applicants have applied. In some cases, staff share a heritage language with some of the children, which has proven to be valuable for children, parents and teachers.

One of the priorities of the principal in preschool 1 is to support families’—particularly those newly arrived—integration and well-being. For this, she emphasized the importance of knowing their background and circumstances and ensuring clear communication. For this purpose, the preschool staff translate key information for parents using, for example, Google Translate or with the assistance of bilingual staff. The principal maintained an open-door policy and made sure that parents could contact her when needed. The principal in preschool 1 and other staff were also observant of children’s needs, such as appropriate outdoor clothing. For this purpose, the preschool established a space by the entrance of the preschool where parents could discreetly leave or acquire second-hand clothing and shoes. This initiative was meant to address the needs of families, many of whom have low-paying jobs.

The head of department in preschool 1 also emphasized strong communication with families. She sends a weekly newsletter in Icelandic and English, where she includes photographs of daily activities. She also maintains daily contact with families during drop-off times and makes sure to be accessible for parents if they need to discuss their children’s well-being or developmental concerns. The head of department considers this to be essential for building trust and ensuring consistency in home–preschool communication.

Talking about preschool 1, the father in family 1 said that his son was doing well and happy there.

Father: … he’s playing with the kids, and what I saw, I was coming back home all the time, painting. It’s like, you know, in his life, and even at home we live him, you know, to paint himself, and, you know, we are not like, no, no, no, you’re going to get dirty or something. Just do whatever you want, after that go to the shower.

Researcher: So, he feels happy, you think.

Father: Yeah, I think so. And even from kindergarten they tell us, it’s like, it’s a happy kid, I mean, it’s not, we cannot seem like, you know, has these bad habits or, you know, to push the kids or, you know.

(Father, family 1)

The mother in family 2 also had positive experiences of preschool 1 and how the preschool supported different languages.

Discussing her children’s Icelandic learning, the mother noted:

Mother: They speak Icelandic to me and I don’t understand. Like (my daughter) she loses some words and I told her mama what’s that mean, and she keeps repeating the same. She doesn’t understand she speaks another language. She thinks it’s normal. Even when she speaks English she doesn’t understand she speaks different language. And sometimes she uses a bit Arabic, all of it. Makes it.

Researcher: But are you doing something special at home, something to support her Arabic or her English.

Mother: Yes, we are trying to speak more Arabic for her to not forget. Because she always listening to English, and speaks Icelandic here. She speaks English here, because there are some boys like (her friend), they speak English. So she speaks English here.

Researcher: So do you have any books at home or like children’s TV programmes or something you use in Arabic?

Mother: Icelandic books. And Icelandic-English together. There are books. Yeah they told me she speaks some Icelandic here. And uses some sentences. And with our friends she speaks Icelandic. She told them that she hurt her eyes and fall down. And they translated that to me. But I have to learn more Icelandic. Because with time (my son) will speak only Icelandic. So it’s not easy.

Researcher: Yes, this is the challenge of having many languages.

Mother: Exactly. That will encourage us to learn more languages.

(Mother, family 2)

Findings from staff and parents in preschool 1 indicate that both policies and practices are supportive of children’s heritage languages, and cultural and linguistic diversity more generally. Practices described and observed in the preschool are in line with inclusive linguistic appropriate practices as described by Chumak-Horbatsch (2012). Practices and approaches in preschool 1 reveal understanding of and respect for children’s linguistic repertoire and language agency. Furthermore, the findings reveal that practices are inclusive and socially just, in line with Cummins’ (2001, 2021) writings, and aim to respond to the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse groups of children and their families.

4.2.2. Preschool 2

Although the children and families in preschool 2 have diverse backgrounds, the preschool recently adopted a new policy on “Icelandic for everything.” This entails that all written communication to parents is provided in Icelandic only. Within the preschool, however, the staff recognize that children who share a heritage language may use it with one another. However, this is not encouraged. Some children use English for communication, and this is seen as an obstacle to learning Icelandic.

When new families arrive, they participate in an interview, where they are asked about their children’s heritage language, languages spoken at home, and reading practices within the family. Despite this example of multilingual awareness, the preschool sends all written information to parents in Icelandic. The reason that the principal in preschool 2 provides is that parents living and working in Iceland should learn Icelandic, and if they do not understand the information, they are expected to translate it themselves.

The principal in preschool 2 explained that, in previous years, some staff members have complained about being expected to translate information for parents. The shift to Icelandic-only communication was therefore made collaboratively and, in her view, respects both staff time and resources. She emphasized that major decisions such as this one are made through discussion with the entire staff. Parent meetings are likewise conducted exclusively in Icelandic.

Overall, however, the principal in preschool 2 emphasizes collaboration, clarity, and consistency in both pedagogical direction and communication practices.

Although multiculturalism was previously emphasized in preschool 2, interviews with the principal and department heads indicated that multiculturalism and multilingualism are no longer priorities in the preschool. One challenge that the principal in preschool 2 noted was that a relatively high proportion of immigrants from one Eastern European country had resulted in a lack of communication and participation among families from that country and limited trust between some of the families and the preschool.

Although language development is an emphasis in preschool 2, the preschool also prioritizes children’s social well-being and emotional expression. Staff aim to create a stable and predictable environment with limited external stimuli so that children have space to play freely.

According to the principal in preschool 2, the “Icelandic for everything” policy entails that the staff are instructed not to use their heritage languages with parents or with one another within the preschool. The principal believed that maintaining one clear school language—Icelandic—will provide the clear message to parents that the preschool does not operate bilingually.

In an interview with two heads of department together, they described the preschool as being ambitious, professional, and characterized by strong dialogue among the staff and that their voices were heard. Although a formal written language policy has not yet been finalized in the preschool, both department heads described “unwritten rules” that guide practice. The main principle of “Icelandic for everything” meant that Icelandic was expected to be used in all contexts within the preschool. The heads of departments both gave examples of multilingual children in their departments, some of whom were struggling with Icelandic, while others were progressing well. Even without a formal policy, the preschool staff expect that children speak Icelandic during preschool hours. The department heads noted some examples where children spoke their common heritage languages together, thereby excluding children who did not understand that language.

The heads of departments also described challenges with some parents who do not want to learn Icelandic and do not encourage their children to do so. As a result, they noted, these children became socially isolated and struggled to communicate with peers, creating tension within the preschool community.

Both heads of department shared their concern regarding the use of English among children, even when English was not their heritage language. They noted that English has become a third language for many children, acquired through social media and television. They also expressed concern and provided examples of children who had stronger English skills than Icelandic.

The heads of department also described difficulties communicating with parents who speak neither Icelandic nor English. As a result, they noted that some parents prefer to communicate with staff members who share their heritage language rather than with Icelandic-speaking staff. They noted that this could in some cases lead to a lack of communication with the heads of departments and the principal. The heads of department were also concerned about the frequent changes in guidelines regarding multilingual children. They noted that while some years ago they were encouraged to support children using their heritage languages, recent training emphasized the opposite approach of an Icelandic-only policy. An additional concern described by the heads of department was that many parents did not read to their children. They noted that very few parents borrowed books from the preschool although this was encouraged, and some homes did not contain any books. The heads of department perceived this as an obstacle to children’s language development.

A Romanian mother (family 3) in preschool 2 explained that her son was learning three languages, as the family mainly spoke Romanian at home but both Icelandic and English in the preschool:

Mother: We speak Romanian at home, and we do tend to play and talk in English because I think it’s a more fun language. I talk to him in Romanian mostly, but English too.

Researcher: So a mix of both or do you sometimes speak English and sometimes Romanian?

Mother: Yes, he prefers to play in English. Maybe because of the cartoons. He has some imagination from the cartoons and I’m helping him. But they learn English in the kindergarten, so it’s good.

(Mother, family 3)

The mother in family 4 further explained that as her children had friends from many different countries, they had also started speaking some other languages, including English and Polish.

Furthermore, she had received recommendations from the schools in their village regarding teaching their heritage language to their children:

They recommend that we don’t learn any Arabic because it confuses the children or something. Yeah, they talked us yeah. Because it was good for them or something. Many languages, Polish, English, Icelandic and Arabic. Okay speak it’s okay. But read or something, it’s very hard for them.

(Mother, family 4)

This Arabic speaking family thus lacked support from the schools in maintaining the children’s heritage language.

The findings from preschool 2 indicate that the monolingual practices emphasized there, as Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) has argued, may silence the children’s use of their heritage languages. Instead of supporting the children’s multilingualism, preschool 2 appears to recommend that parents not teach their children the heritage languages. As Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) notes, monolingual practices can have serious consequences for multilingual children. They may feel that their language is less important than that of children speaking the majority language of the preschool.

4.2.3. Preschool 3

The principal in preschool 3 described the preschool being the most diverse that she had ever experienced. She noted:

(Diverse) … in all ways. The staff is diverse. Both as regards backgrounds … diverse backgrounds and education. The children are of diverse backgrounds … There are of course very many languages. But there is also diversity … in the socioeconomic background of the children. … And you feel it. And so … I would say … this diversity is what I experience … I would say not only regarding diverse cultures … more like generally.

(Principal, preschool 3)

While the preschool principal noted that there were many challenges in such a diverse preschool, she emphasized that the ethos was good. This is confirmed in surveys of staff and parents. Parents are generally very satisfied with the preschool: 100% of respondents (participation around 70%) believe their child feels comfortable in the preschool. Over 96% of respondents believe their child is safe, that the preschool supports their child’s needs and that there is a pleasant culture at the preschool.

When asked about the main emphasis in the preschool, the principal described this as being increasing the Icelandic vocabulary of the children. This is emphasized to provide the children with better opportunities to become active participants in the preschool and at other school levels and to empower them to communicate and strengthen their social skills. In spite of the diversity of heritage languages at the school, Icelandic is the main preschool language.

The principal explained the reason for this and the challenges and opportunities embedded in the diverse languages spoken by the children:

… the Polish children tend to speak more Polish together. And then maybe we’ve tried to ensure that everyone can be included, and if someone joins the group, shouldn’t we try to speak the language that everyone understands? So, we take this more from a social perspective and so that everyone can be friends. Or, you know, together. And participants. Because … and just one small example, the other day I came across two who were talking … and then I hear … they’re speaking Polish, then one comes along who speaks Lithuanian. And … I just hear her say: “Stop! Stop!” And I come forward and say: “Isn’t everything okay?” and something like that. And then the one who speaks Lithuanian just says: “I don’t understand!” And I say: “Girls, what can we do? Should we … you know, should we invite her along? And how can we do that? Now she doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Would you like to tell us what you’re talking about?” So, this is perhaps a very concrete example of how we want to use the language policy as such. That the children also feel that they want to invite other children, but that they don’t feel that they are forbidden to speak their language, you know.

(Principal, preschool 3)

The principal also noted that she had previously thought about being a role model for children, but never thought about the concept of being a “language model” for children before she started working at this preschool. She explained that this had become an important concept in preschool 3 as they needed to emphasize that the children would become fluent Icelandic speakers for their further education.

Practices for supporting the children’s Icelandic learning include an emphasis on reading and language use through various practices such as art and music. The local library is visited by the children and their teachers and books are borrowed. A preschool teacher who was interviewed explained how the staff try to connect with the children’s heritage languages through educational practices in Icelandic. She noted that they would for example try to connect with the parents and tell them “ … now we’re working with … Icelandic in the kindergarten” and “You can be reading books on the same theme at home” and so on. The teacher also explained that they had recently begun to ask parents in questionnaires how the children were progressing in their home languages.

A Nepalese father reported that while the family members speak Nepali at home, the children often speak Icelandic to each other and that their strongest language had become Icelandic. The parents were very happy with the preschool and reported that their children received good support in Icelandic and in maintaining their heritage languages. The father noted that the preschool staff was very supportive and easy to communicate with.

Father: I think we are pretty good to share that you know, once a year at least about kids. What they’re doing, which feels good for us, you know. Because we love kids, we hope they’re doing better you know. And I think I’m really happy with this. It’s good to share some things.

(Father, family 5)

However, he noted that he and his wife struggled to maintain their heritage language at home as Icelandic had become their children’s main language.

A Polish mother in preschool 3 reported that she was happy with the preschool and the practices there. When asked about the language policy and practices, she was not sure, but she explained that her son separated Icelandic and Polish clearly and that his Icelandic was quite good. She explained:

… when I go to pick up my son, and it’s depends with what kids he’s playing because if he is just like with some two Polish friends, they speak Polish. But if they like um Icelandic kids, or not Icelandic but with other language, they just speak Icelandic. So, you know, I think it’s fine. Because he knows with who, what language he can use for our kids, you know?

(Mother, family 6)

The cultural and linguistic diversity of children and staff in preschool 3 has provided the preschool with rare opportunities to implement linguistically and culturally responsive practices, as Gay (2010) and Chumak-Horbatsch (2012) have suggested, rather than focusing on children’s limited abilities. Although Icelandic is the main preschool language at preschool 3, the preschool supports diverse heritage languages and encourages parents to maintain these. Furthermore, communication between the parents and preschool seems to be flexible and supportive. Gay (2010) notes that culturally responsive teaching entails building on the cultural knowledge and prior experiences of diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and meaningful and effective for them. This approach has been implemented at preschool 3 and a holistic approach (Gay, 2010) towards children is emphasized rather than focusing on their limited abilities.

5. Conclusions

The article adds to gaps in research on multilingual families, children and preschools as well as home–preschool collaboration related to multilingualism.

The findings of this project reveal that in spite of inclusive national educational policies and an emphasis on equity and equal opportunities in national curriculum guides, there are significant differences in preschool policies and practices. It is clear from the national policies that responsibility for the student’s Icelandic learning lies with schools as well as parents, and that schools should educate parents about the benefits of maintaining and cultivating their children’s heritage language. However, many parents face challenges in maintaining their heritage languages often because of limited support from preschools. It is clear that support differs between the preschools in this project and the municipalities.

Some of the teachers in the study are interested in supporting the children’s multilingualism, while some of them claim that they lack knowledge, training, and support in implementing multilingual practices. Other teachers believe that their focus should be on Icelandic only. Therefore, the children have different levels of language support from their teachers and principals and different opportunities and amounts of agency in developing their multilingualism.

Although this study is limited to a small number of families, their children and their preschool teachers and principals, the research findings provide practitioners, policy makers and parents with suggestions as to how children can and will benefit from support in maintaining their heritage languages. The findings indicate that more structured collaboration between families and preschools, as well as a more thorough policy guidance for preschools related to the benefits of multilingualism and how to support families and preschools in maintaining children’s multiple languages, is likely to strengthen children’s multilingualism. Further research is needed to understand how preschools support children’s multilingualism, possible gaps between educational policies and practices, preschool teachers’ education on multilingualism or lack thereof, and the obstacles and opportunities that parents and preschools experience in supporting children’s multilingualism.