Paradoxes of access to equity: multilingual primary school classroom practices

Abstract

This paper draws on an intervention study focussing on translanguaging pedagogies. The study was carried out in 2020–2022 in collaboration with principals and teachers at one school located in a socioeconomic disadvantaged area in Sweden. Drawing on teachers’ logbooks, the aim was to investigate in what ways the theoretical concept of translanguaging is understood and transformed into teaching and learning within multilingual classroom practices with students aged 6–12. The analysed data reveal that opportunities for communication and interaction are designed through the organisation of language groups, the approaches of comparing and translating, and using multimodal and digital reinforcements. Teachers expressed stances around providing opportunities for students to interact and communicate various subject content through all their languages. A shift in pedagogical thinking was made visible regarding how the teachers chose to describe and categorise students’ multilingual and cultural experiences. Identified paradoxes concern students’ experiences of using all their languages for learning, possibilities for integrating several languages in classroom practices, and the status of various languages in society. Possible collaborations between schools and students’ homes were highlighted.

Keywords:

• Equal and fair education
• multilingual primary school classroom practices
• socioeconomic inequalities
• teaching and learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The term ‘low-performing’ is used in statistics from the Swedish National Agency of Education (NAE 2022) in relation to schools having a significant number of students not reaching the knowledge requirements in several subjects which are equal to the grade level of approved [C], and hence not many students reaching the highest grade level [A] in grade 9, and therefore access to national programs at upper secondary school. Students who have not completed/approved grades from compulsory school can still gain access to national programs through attending a specific program aimed at completing the required grades. Before grade 9, the lower ranges of national standardised tests in grades 3 and 6 indicate the same problem of no equity, and consequently, acquire the label of a ‘low-performing’ school.

2 https://www.ulfavtal.se/

3 https://www.globalgoals.org/. The global goals aim to build a greener, fairer, and better world, for instance through ending poverty and hunger and ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all.