Multicultural Perspectives in Driving Instructor Education and Driving Schools for Professional Drivers in Norway

Abstract

AbstractThis study aims to examine how a multicultural perspective is integrated into the driving instructor education and education of professional drivers in driving schools in Norway. Many of the public transit bus drivers and drivers of other commercial motor vehicles are immigrants and second language users. The study centers on investigating the training experiences of driving instructor trainers and driving instructors on how prospective drivers with an immigrant background attend training and gain a professional license. Our perspective is on second language and cultural challenges within driving instructor education and driving schools for professional drivers. The study uses individual interviews of driving instructor trainers and driving instructors in driving schools. These educational programs are seen in light of official documents such as curricula and Norwegian road traffic regulations. The results show that driving instructors and driving instructor trainers are attentive to multilingualism and multiculturalism in their teaching, and that they do perceive common challenges with language and culture. Both driving instructors and driving instructor trainers attempt to solve the challenges, but to varying degrees, depending on the individual trainer. Driving instructor trainers call for more training in the topic and are currently working on implementing multilingual and multicultural issues in new curricula for driving instructor education.