Liselott Forsman

Multiplicity in the making: towards a praxis-oriented approach to professional development

In this paper we explore some challenges, constraints and possibilities for creating inclusive multicultural practices in previously monocultural education settings. Two sites are examined: one a regional high school in Australia, which has become more ethnically heterogeneous through an increase in predominantly African students of refugee origin; the other, a Swedish-medium primary-school setting in Finland with a slow but significant increase in the number of immigrant students. Utilising the theoretical lens of practice architectures, we focus on the key role that educators’ practices play in ethnically diverse learners’ identity formation, as part of the process of ‘multiplicity in the making’. We suggest how schools can foster more inclusive classroom practices, through adopting a praxis-oriented approach to teachers’ professional development.

EFL Education in the New Millennium: Focus on the Promotion of Awareness of Difference and Diversity.

This article addresses the changing role of the education of English as a Foreign Language by presenting results from a study aimed at problematizing and increasing the understanding of the inclusion of cultural aspects in the language classroom. The study from which this article is drawn consists of theoretical explorations into the field, linked to an action research project exploring the promotion of intercultural competence during the three years of lower secondary school of a class of 17 minority Swedish‐speaking students in Finland (aged 13–15). The focus of this article is on one of the main areas explored in the study: the promotion of awareness of difference and diversity to help prevent and modify stereotypical views through a constructivist framework of learning, including the implementation of experiential and dialogical approaches in the classroom.

Investigating the cultural dimension in foreign language education – from transmission of facts to dialogical uptake

The article discusses aspects of an action research study, with the aim of exploring how the cultural dimension within the education of English as a foreign language could evolve from a transmission of target-culture facts into an exploration of generic and value-related aspects such as awareness of diversity and respect for difference. The article focuses on social-constructivist and socio-cultural approaches such as dialogical and experiential learning. In the discussion, particular emphasis will be given to the possibilities of developing language education into praxis through the tools of uptake on challenging topics that emerge in the classroom, and reflective work conducted by both students and the teacher. Here, praxis entails the neo-Aristotelian view of education as a moral and meaningful activity, where the educator is acting in response to particularities of a given situation for the good of her students and humankind.

From Transmission to Site-Based Professional Development

The authors of this chapter are engaged as teachers and researchers at Abo Akademi University, Finland. They work at the Faculty of Education, which is responsible for educating teachers for the Swedish-medium schools in Finland. Besides the authors’ professional background within schools and university, this chapter draws on experiences of facilitation of professional development in schools.

On the Changing Role of English Language Education: Promoting Respect for Difference in the Language Classroom.

This article argues for a more systematic and integrated approach to the cultural dimension within English language education in a globalized world, with the concept of culture taking on an affectively related and process‐oriented meaning. To this end, it suggests an approach for the development of the ability to decenter from cultural norms and behavior that previously have been taken for granted, within a social constructivist framework of learning. The study from which the article is drawn was conducted through action research in an EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom during the three final years of basic education within the Swedish‐medium educational system in Finland. Artikeln förespråkar ett mer systematiskt och integrerat förhållningssätt till den kulturella dimensionen i engelskklassrummet i dagens globaliserade värld, där kulturbegreppet ges en affektiv och processorienterad innebörd. För detta ändamål föreslås hur förmågan att distansera sig från kulturella normer och beteenden som tidigare tagits för givna kunde utvecklas inom ramen för en socio‐konstruktivistisk syn på lärande. Till grund för artikeln ligger ett treårigt aktionsforskningsprojekt i ett engelskklassrum från åk 7 till 9 i den svenskspråkiga grundskolan i Finland.