Listening to the voices of teachers: Multilingualism and inclusive education

Management of linguistic diversity in schools receives little attention in research. As a result of increased migration and mobility world-wide, classrooms today are characterized by considerable diversity in students’ linguistic backgrounds. This heterogeneity poses a challenge to education in general and to inclusive education in particular. Delivering a high quality education that effectively meets the academic and social learning needs of multilingual children depends crucially on the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge on multilingualism that teachers bring to class with them. The present study aims to investigate the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge on multilingualism of teachers at the pre-primary and primary levels. We thus focus on one of the main drivers that shape inclusive educational practices for children and students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The pre-primary and primary levels are of vital importance to educational outcomes, as it is here that children enter the education systems and acquire fundamental literacy skills. It also is, for a substantial number of children, the first time they have to perform in the majority language. Our aim is to chart teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and knowledge spaces and to determine the factors that shape them.

Ongoing project