Transforming classroom discourse: An inuit example

Abstract

This paper presents primarily quantitative data regarding forms of classroom discourse and turn allocation that emerged from a larger ethnographic study examining Inuit classroom interactions and discourse patterns in three kindergarten and three first grade Inuit‐taught classrooms in three Ungava Bay communities. The focus is on the transformational effects of the incorporation of culturally‐congruous social interaction patterns and the promotion of traditional values on these two aspects of Inuit classroom conversations. A model of mainstream classroom interactions based on the work of Mehan (1979) is used as a point of comparison to illustrate the extent to which the transformation of discourse has occurred in these six classrooms.