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ERIC Number: EJ1450395
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1463-9491
Available Date: N/A
Exploring the Perceptions of Early Childhood Educators on the Delivery of Multilingual Education in Australia: Challenges and Opportunities
Criss Jones Diaz; Beatriz Cardona; Paola Escudero
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, v25 n4 p488-502 2024
Australia lags behind other linguistic and culturally diverse countries in policy direction and approaches to early multilingual education, despite well-established research documenting the intellectual, linguistic, sociocultural, familial and economic benefits of multilingualism in the early years. This is evidenced by the absence of a national policy framework that addresses early multilingual education in Australia, and the relatively limited attention given to research on the role of early childhood education in supporting and extending children's home languages. Within this context, using data from a larger study on early multilingual education, this article builds on empirical data from interviews with four educators representing two early childhood education settings. This article aims to examine the educators' perspectives of their settings' policy and practice, in the absence of broader curriculum frameworks, regarding their role in extending children's home languages. Despite this policy gap, the authors explore how these settings facilitated the diverse linguistic and cultural assets of children and families by supporting and extending children's home languages. Drawing on Bourdieu's framework of social practice, they examine various pedagogical approaches implemented at the settings that validated children's multilingualism, and explore the range of opportunities afforded to multilingual children in using their home languages at the settings. The findings reveal that despite the educators' well-developed understandings of the benefits of early multilingualism, there is some confusion regarding appropriate pedagogical approaches for multilingual support in early childhood education.
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A