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Teaching in the ‘edgelands' of the school day : The organisation of Mother Tongue Studies in a highly diverse Swedish primary school

Avery, Helen LU (2015) In Power and Education 7(2). p.239-254
Abstract
To promote attainment and inclusion, Sweden offers tuition in migrant pupils’ mother tongues as a regular school subject. However, the formulation of learning aims is problematic, and resources allocated to the subject do not correspond to ambitions expressed in steering documents. This case study presents an analysis of the organization of Mother Tongue Studies at a highly diverse urban primary school, based on interviews with teachers and head teachers. The practical organization of Mother Tongue Tuition affects how mother tongue teachers and pupils are perceived, but also potentially provides opportunities for empowerment and educational development. Results indicate that in the investigated case, such opportunities are not exploited,... (More)
To promote attainment and inclusion, Sweden offers tuition in migrant pupils’ mother tongues as a regular school subject. However, the formulation of learning aims is problematic, and resources allocated to the subject do not correspond to ambitions expressed in steering documents. This case study presents an analysis of the organization of Mother Tongue Studies at a highly diverse urban primary school, based on interviews with teachers and head teachers. The practical organization of Mother Tongue Tuition affects how mother tongue teachers and pupils are perceived, but also potentially provides opportunities for empowerment and educational development. Results indicate that in the investigated case, such opportunities are not exploited, placing mother tongue teachers in a state of continuous structural stress, while limiting the forms their teaching relationships can take. Additionally, scheduling the school subject Mother Tongue Studies at the ‘edgelands' of the school day contributed to further marginalizing languages taught as mother tongue and minimized interaction with class teachers. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Mother tongue instruction, intercultural organisational development, Sweden, minority languages, teacher collaboration, language in education policy, scheduling, mother tongue teachers
in
Power and Education
volume
7
issue
2
pages
239 - 254
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85027984500
ISSN
1757-7438
DOI
10.1177/1757743815586523
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
82491600-b24e-40a6-af81-122344dfe1f3
date added to LUP
2016-12-27 12:47:26
date last changed
2023-09-12 07:13:33
@article{82491600-b24e-40a6-af81-122344dfe1f3,
  abstract     = {{To promote attainment and inclusion, Sweden offers tuition in migrant pupils’ mother tongues as a regular school subject. However, the formulation of learning aims is problematic, and resources allocated to the subject do not correspond to ambitions expressed in steering documents. This case study presents an analysis of the organization of Mother Tongue Studies at a highly diverse urban primary school, based on interviews with teachers and head teachers. The practical organization of Mother Tongue Tuition affects how mother tongue teachers and pupils are perceived, but also potentially provides opportunities for empowerment and educational development. Results indicate that in the investigated case, such opportunities are not exploited, placing mother tongue teachers in a state of continuous structural stress, while limiting the forms their teaching relationships can take. Additionally, scheduling the school subject Mother Tongue Studies at the ‘edgelands' of the school day contributed to further marginalizing languages taught as mother tongue and minimized interaction with class teachers.}},
  author       = {{Avery, Helen}},
  issn         = {{1757-7438}},
  keywords     = {{Mother tongue instruction; intercultural organisational development; Sweden; minority languages; teacher collaboration; language in education policy; scheduling; mother tongue teachers}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{239--254}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Power and Education}},
  title        = {{Teaching in the ‘edgelands' of the school day : The organisation of Mother Tongue Studies in a highly diverse Swedish primary school}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1757743815586523}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1757743815586523}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}