Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study

Dockrell, Julie and Papadopoulos, T C and Mifsud, C L and Bourke, Lorna (2021) Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study. European Journal of Psychology of Education.

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Abstract

School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation model- ling showed that teachers’ attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers’ views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Teaching, learning, schools, multilingualism, Europe
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Lorna Bourke
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2021 10:02
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2021 10:02
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3238

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