Session Information
31 SES 04 A, Effectiveness of Multilingual Education Programmes on (Academic) Language Proficiency, Home Literacies and Teacher Perspectives
Symposium
Contribution
Following calls for multilingual education in early childhood education, some multilingual programmes have been implemented in Europe. However, their focus frequently remains on the majority language and home languages are given little space (Kratzmann et al., 2017). For multilingual programmes to be inclusive and empowering, professionals need to break with monolingual practices based on monolingual ideologies. The resource-oriented pedagogy of translanguaging, which challenges hegemonic practices, is one way in which professionals can give space to all languages, leverage children’s resources for learning and contribute to their development (García et al., 2017). Professional development is one way to support practitioners in reflecting on beliefs and ideologies, developing knowledge and understanding, and implementing multilingual programmes (Egert et al., 2018). The present study is based in trilingual Luxembourg where a new law on language education was voted in 2017. Early years practitioners in both formal and non-formal education settings are required to develop the children’s skills in Luxembourgish, familiarize them with French, and value their home languages. The present paper examines the change of beliefs and knowledge related to multilingual education, translanguaging, and language learning and teaching of seven professionals, who took part in a professional development from May 2016 to September 2017. The data stem from observations in the settings, video-recorded activities, observations during the professional development, and interviews. The data analysis drew on thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013), Seedhouse’s (2005) ‘sociocultural approach to conversation analysis’ and triangulation (Flick, 2011). The findings show a change of perspectives and knowledge construction of all professionals: they developed a positive stance towards multilingual education and developed knowledge and skills enabling them to design a language-stimulating environment and support language learning (Kirsch & Aleksić, 2018). The change came as a result of the theoretical input in the training sessions, the feedback through coaching, the reflection on language activities in the network meetings, and most importantly, the reflection on the changing practices. The professional learning depended among others on the professionals’ qualification, the formal or non-formal education institution they worked in, and meso and micro-factors, which influenced their practices such as the practiced language policies and the diverse language backgrounds of the enrolled children. The findings contribute to our understanding of the ways in which long-term, collaborative and performance-based professional development can affect teacher outcomes (Egert et al., 2018; Peleman et al., 2018).
References
Braun, V., & Clarke. V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. Egert, F., Fukking, R. G., & Eckhardt, A. G. (2018). Impact of In-Service Professional Development Programs for Early Childhood Teachers on Quality Ratings and Child Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research June, 88(3), 401–433. Flick, U. (2011). Triangulation Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag. García, O., Johnson, S. I., & Seltzer, K. (2017). The translanguaging classroom: leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Carlson, Philadelphia Kirsch, C., & Aleksić, G. (2018). The Effect of Professional Development on Multilingual Education in Early Childhood in Luxembourg. Review of European Studies, 10(4), 1–18. Kratzmann, J., Jahreiß, S., Frank, M., Ertanir, B., & Sachse, S. (2017). Einstellungen pädagogischer Fachkräfte in Kindertageseinrichtungen zur Mehrsprachigkeit [Beliefs on multilingualism of practitioners in early years institutions]. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 20(2), 237–258. Peleman, B., Lazzari, A., Budginaitė, I., Siarova, H., Hauari, H.,Peeters, J., & Cameron C. (2018). Continuous professional development and ECEC quality: Findings from a European systematic literature review. European Journal of Education. Research, development and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12257 Seedhouse, P. (2005) Conversation Analysis and language learning. Language Teaching, 38(4),165–187.
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