Kimberly Safford

The ‘problem’ of bilingual children in educational settings: policy and research in England

Is language something to be ‘overcome’? In this discussion of education policy and research perspectives on bilingual children in England, the authors take as their starting point five questions about language diversity posed in 1973 by Dell Hymes. The authors review the history of mainstream school support for young bilingual learners in England and how policies and practices have contextualised the research agenda by framing bilingual learners in a monolingual curriculum and assessment structure. The authors consider how ethnographic studies in non-statutory, complementary schools and early years settings offer vantage points from which multilingualism is seen as a pedagogical resource rather than a problem. It is hoped that the discussion will prompt readers to consider the ‘problem’ of linguistic diversity in mainstream education wherever they are situated, and to consider what kinds of research methods would provide insights and solutions.

Linguistic capital of trainee teachers: knowledge worth having?

This research is an interpretive study of individual and institutional language practices based on an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from a large higher education institute of teacher training in Britain. The study explores teacher professionalism in relation to language, examining the ‘invisible’ linguistic and cultural capital of multilingual student teachers. This capital is a potentially powerful contribution to student teacher pedagogy and professionalism, but in the two key domains of teacher education (university and school) where practitioner ‘funds of knowledge’ are manifested in events and activities, the study reveals how multilingual students struggle to create or access events and activities where they can demonstrate and develop their ‘knowledge in action’. The discussion frames multilingual student teachers and multilingual pupils as mirror participants in monolingual institutions and explores issues of subordination, investment and empowerment in relation to language use. The study presents multilingual student teachers as multi-competent language users who could positively influence wider pedagogic knowledge and practices but who are prevented from activating their linguistic, cultural and community expertise through institutional and professional lack of recognition.

Barriers to blended digital distance vocational learning for non-traditional students

This research identifies and examines the challenges of blending digital distance and vocational learning for non-traditional and low-socio-economic status students who are new to university education. A survey of students in vocational primary education and early years qualifications in a distance university is illuminated by interviews with individual students and video diaries recorded by them during module study. Barriers to study include where and when to go online, finding support for digital study, navigating virtual learning environments and knowing what is relevant, variable or no technologies in the workplace, making connections between workplace technologies and ICT for study, and storing and organising digital information. As university education goes increasingly online, the research aims to improve institutional awareness and provision for widening participation. The research findings suggest practical changes to ameliorate experiences of digital distance vocational learning and by these means to improve student retention, progression and completion.

Teaching Grammar and Testing Grammar in the English Primary School: The Impact on Teachers and their Teaching of the Grammar Element of the Statutory Test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

Abstract The research examined the impact on teachers of the grammar element of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in primary schools in England. The research aimed to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of the test in 2013. The research explored teachers’ responses to teaching grammar to a statutory test format, and how teachers implemented rapid curriculum change in their classrooms. The research sought to learn the perspectives of teachers as they adjusted to new English assessments and new expectations for children’s language in the primary school. This paper draws on teacher interviews (n = 16) and an online survey of teaching staff (n = 170). Teachers discuss their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of grammar at their own level, and their skills for teaching pupils; they also discuss their observations of how pupils have responded to explicit grammar teaching and the grammar test. The data give some insights into the processes for teachers of applying new requirements for teaching and testing grammar, and how teachers strive to make grammar accessible to children. The findings discussed in this paper are: (1) since the introduction of the statutory SPaG test in primary schools, time spent teaching decontextualised and contextualised grammar has increased significantly; (2) grammar is now taught explicitly and formally as a classroom literacy routine; (3) the test format influences grammar teaching content and approaches; (4) teachers observe that pupils enjoy learning grammar and taking the test; (5) teachers disagree about the extent to which explicit grammar teaching and testing have a positive impact on pupils’ language and literacy skills; (6) teachers feel more confident about teaching grammar.

‘The right book to the right child at the right time’: Primary Teacher Knowledge of Children's Literature

It would seem to be axiomatic that primary teachers are experts in children’s literature and its potential for teaching, but such knowledge is far from consistent across the profession. The article analyses why this is so, offering an historical overview and discussion of how English education policy, over time, separated the teaching of reading from the reading of literature and the resulting impact on teachers’ knowledge and use of children’s texts in the primary classroom.

‘Give courage to the ladies’: expansive apprenticeship for women in rural Malawi

Apprenticeship in developed and industrialised nations is increasingly understood and practised as learning which connects workplace activity and formal study. The concept of ‘expansive apprenticeship’ defines frameworks for workforce development where participants acquire knowledge and skills which will help them in the future as well as in their current roles; ‘restrictive’ apprenticeships limit opportunities for wider, lifelong learning. In developing world economies, apprenticeships are a traditional route to learning and employment, but tend to reflect a restrictive approach characterised by narrowly defined roles and weak educational outcomes. This paper examines the apprenticeship opportunities in a large scale Access to Teaching Scholarship in Malawi. The programme’s study materials and support structures are designed to move participants from restrictive to expansive contexts for learning and to develop hybrid roles as students, community workers and apprentice teachers. The authors examine data from the first cohort of participants and consider the extent to which the Scholarship offers an innovative model of expansive apprenticeship to address barriers to female continuing education and chronic teacher shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa.