ABSTRACT
In this paper, we make a theoretical and methodical case for combining Institutional Ethnography and Reflexive Grounded Theory to investigate linguistic transition processes of newly-arrived students in the German school system. Legitimised by a missing knowledge of German, the students are separated into preparatory classes in order to prepare them (linguistically) for the regular classes. This article develops a reflexive institutional-ethnographic approach that problematises and visualises the various voices and practices of social actors engaged in these transition processes. We elaborate the theoretical premises, methodical steps and procedures of a combined approach which allows to reconstruct the transition moment and its attendant tensions, stakeholder perspectives and embeddedness in wider social processes of migration-related multilingualism. The paper enriches the methodological landscape in language, education and migration studies and offers implications for engaging with educational research sites.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 In order to ensure the protections of our participants’ identities, all individual names used are pseudonyms.
2 The study ‘Newly-arrived students in lower-secondary education. A qualitative study on language education during the transition from preparatory to mainstream classes’ is funded by the German Research Foundation (2020–2023). For further information see: https://www.ew.uni-hamburg.de/einrichtungen/ew1/vergleichende/diver/forschung/laufende-projekte/sprabue.html.