“I feel like I'm 50 per cent mum and 100 per cent teacher”: the teacher role for newly arrived refugee youths in Norway

This study explores the complex role of teachers working with newly arrived refugee youth (NARYs) in Norway, with a particular focus on their role as “inclusion agents” and “carers”. Methodologically, the study is based on qualitative data from two research projects (2017–2023), focusing on one upper secondary school with a separate youth department for NARYs. In this article, we analyze four group interviews as well as observations and informal conversations. The analysis was conducted using a collective thematic approach, focusing on the everyday manifestations of the inclusion and care tasks the teachers take on. Drawing upon Lipsky's concept of “street-level bureaucrats”, the study illuminates the tensions the teachers face in this educational context: between responsiveness/resources, direction/discretion, and education/care. Notwithstanding this, teachers are depicted as dedicated “agents of change”.