Abstract Summary
This paper examines knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (Ernest, 1989) of multilingualism in German teachers. Framed by sociological and pedagogical frameworks, we discuss the advantages and limitation of qualitative content analysis in order to approach attitudes towards multilingualism.
Abstract :
The aim of the present paper is to discuss methodological approaches based on an empirical study. The study examined how teachers deal with multilingual pupils and the reasons for these practices. Whereas most studies focused on teachers in schools with monolingual policies, we also included teachers at bilingual schools as well as pre-service teachers. Framed by sociolinguistic and pedagogical theories, we conducted a qualitative study with teachers in the German state North Rhine-Westphalia. This area constitutes an interesting research site since 30-50% of the children are multilingual, but language policies in schools differ. Whereas most schools have a monolingual orientation, bilingual schools aim to purposely integrate languages other than German in regular classes. To answer the research question, data was collected through semi-guided interviews. We evaluated the data based on Ernest (1989) model on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Taking data from this project as a case, the focus of the presentation will be on the discussion of advantages and limitations of 1) the combination of sociolinguistic (Blommaert & Van Avermaet, 2008) and pedagogical frameworks (Ernest 1989) as theoretical background and 2) qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz 2000) as method to investigate attitudes towards multilingualism. At the backdrop of increasing mobility and language diversity, our paper generally aims to contribute to a better understanding of how researchers from quantitative and qualitative perspectives can join forces and learn from each other.
References:
- Blommaert, J., Avermaet, Van, P. (2008). Taal, onderwijs en de samenleving. De kloof tussen beleid en realiteit. Berghem: Epo.
- Ernest, P. (1989). The Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes of the Mathematics Teacher: a model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13-33.
- Kuckartz, U. (2016). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung (3rd edition). Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Juventa.
