Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Exploring Land, Language And Culture Through Playworld Translanguaging: One Child’S Meaning-Making Practices, Carly Steele, Toni Dobinson, Sender Dovchin, Christine Robinson, Grace Oakley, Wendy Cumming-Potvin, Graeme Gower, Katie Grace, Samina Manado

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Foregrounded in the work of Elizabeth Povinelli and drawing on semiotic theory, translanguaging and play-based learning pedagogies, this article presents findings from a critical participatory action research project conducted in an early years classroom in a remote Aboriginal community school in Western Australia. It describes how two educators, from both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal backgrounds, collaborated to create spaces for the children in their classroom to engage deeply with their land, language and culture through intentional, purposeful and planned play, specifically Playworld Translanguaging. Findings are presented as a narrative account of one child’s meaning-making practices in collaboration with their teachers and …

Noongar Culture, Arts Learning, And Wellbeing Literacy In Early Childhood: A Case Study Of The Song Room’S Deadly Arts Early Years Program In Western Australia Government Primary Schools, Jason Goopy, Narelle Lemon, Megan Mcpherson, Libby Jackson-Barrett, Jacqueline West

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This report presents findings from a case study examining how The Song Room's Deadly Arts Early Years program supports wellbeing literacy in early childhood education through engagement with Noongar culture, arts, and storytelling at Western Australia government primary schools. Conducted on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar at Huntingdale Primary School and Orelia Primary School, the research was co-designed with Indigenous and non-Indigenous teaching artists, school communities, and The Song Room.

The study adopted wellbeing literacy — the capability to understand and intentionally use language about and for wellbeing across contexts — as its theoretical framework. Creative arts-based methods, including draw and tell …

Framings Of Intercultural Competence In Australian Teacher Education: Conceptual Bases And Implications, James F. Toohey, Michael D. Carey, Peter R. Grainger

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Developing an interculturally competent teaching workforce remains an ongoing priority in Australia, yet preparation practices vary in their conceptual grounding. This theoretical paper examines four broad paradigmatic framings that inform strategies to develop intercultural competence in preservice teachers: cognitive, dispositional, critical, and linguistic. We analyse how each paradigm foregrounds particular assumptions about culture, communication, and development, and consider the implications of their partial application in teacher education. Rather than positioning these paradigms as competing models, the paper argues that they function as complementary lenses through which intercultural preparation can be understood and refined. Particular attention is given to the linguistic …

Reciprocal Translanguaging In Peer Interaction: An Interactional Analysis Of Grammatical Co-Construction Among Indonesian Efl Learners, Erwin Ashari, Berlin Sibarani, Masitowarni Siregar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines how reciprocal translanguaging operates in small-group peer interaction to support the co-construction of English grammatical understanding among Indonesian EFL learners. Conceptualized as a structured interactional process in which participants draw on their full linguistic repertoires to build grammatical meaning across turns, reciprocal translanguaging is analyzed through five excerpts of naturally occurring peer discussion focusing on observable moves of questioning, repair, metalinguistic elaboration, and confirmation among three fifth-semester university students at Universitas Riau Kepulauan, Indonesia. Drawing on qualitative interactional discourse analysis of recorded online peer discussions, the study examines how participants flexibly deploy Indonesian and English resources to …

Naming Māori Learning Spaces, Georgina Tuari Stewart, Leon Benade, Valance Smith, Alastair Wells, Amanda Yates

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Following up on our recent article in this journal, this research note discusses the range of names used in Māori school settings for flexible learning spaces (FLS) and innovative learning environments (ILE), There are various existing Māori names for FLS/ILE, which fall into two types: individual names and category names. We consider several of these names as a way to explore this concept and provide a background for positing ‘he wāhi ako’ as a generic name for Māori FLS/ILE, which translates into English as ‘Māori learning space(s).’

How Young Migrants Perceive School Health Education In Sweden, D. Barker, A. Caldeborg, M. Quennerstedt, Valeria Varea

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The aim of this paper is to provide insights into how young people who have been forced to migrate perceive school health education. Eighteen individuals aged 15–19 years (10 females, 8 males, average age 16.9 years) took part in either focus group interviews (n = 7) or individual interviews (n = 1). Participants were first presented with short scenarios concerning health education and were invited to use these scenarios as starting points to discuss their own experiences of health education. Participants were then presented with a collection of photographs that portrayed people displaying broad dimensions of health. Participants were asked …

Unveiling Raciolinguistic Ideologies: Pre-Service Teachers’ Insights On Refugee Integration In Schools, Tuba Yilmaz, Rosanna Ellis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates pre-service teachers' ideologies about refugee students' belonging and integration in Türkiye and examines how these ideologies shape their anticipated pedagogical practices. Using the framework of raciolinguistic ideologies, the study highlights how linguistic and cultural hierarchies influence educational practices, often perpetuating systemic exclusion. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 13 pre-service teachers from various educational programs, utilizing a qualitative, phenomenological design. The findings reveal a predominant reliance on deficit-based perspectives, with refugee students framed as linguistically deficient and culturally "othered." While participants expressed professional commitments to inclusivity, their approaches often emphasized assimilation into Turkish norms, reflecting cultural …

Teacher Training For Diversity: Analyzing Inclusive And Intercultural Education In Early Childhood Degrees Of Three Universities Located In Spain, France And Columbia, Odet Moliner, Aida Sanahuja, Daniel Niclot, Mariaangelica Yazzo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines the integration of inclusive and intercultural education principles in the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at three Universities located in Spain, France and Colombia. An analysis of 116 course syllabi is conducted to identify the specific references to Universal Design for Learning, accessibility, inclusion, diversity and interculturality. A second content analysis was conducted to categorize the units of meaning into four categories and determine the predominant underlying approach to the use of the term 'inclusion' in each degree program. The results indicate that the concepts of accessibility and UDL are the least represented, followed by …

Towards An Indigenous-Informed Multispecies Collaboratory, Sandra Wooltorton, Peta J. White

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

How does Australia's latest Indigenous defeat relate to Environmental Education? The answer is direct complicity. This paper begins with the premise that the failure of Australia's 2023 referendum on "The Voice to Parliament"is directly connected with education. The chapter builds on the proposition that local and Indigenous public knowledge could - and should - be the heart of environmental education. We apply a post-qualitative practice that is underpinned by innovative feminisms and the post-qualitative methods within a Multispecies Collaboratory, an experimental way of transforming our learning by attending to the responsive, relational world of all beings. We use this practice …

Mooditj–Indigenous Australian Sexuality Education Adapted For Hilltribe Youth Of Northern Thailand: Evaluation Of Delivery Through A Mixed-Methods Approach, Jordina Quain, Lorel Mayberry, Amanda Sibosado, Giselle Woodley, Jacqueline Hendriks

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

‘Mooditj' known as ‘good' or ‘solid knowledge’ in Noongar language based in Western Australian, is an impact evaluated sexuality education program developed in 2002 by Sexual Health Quarters after an extensive consultation process with WA First Nations populations. The program uses interactive activities designed to educate 11–14–year–old First Nations youth about sexual health, life and relationship skills. In conjunction with local and Indigenous leaders within hilltribe communities, Borderless Friendship Foundation (BFF) and Borderless Friendship WA (BFWA) adapted the Mooditj training program to a hilltribe youth audience. Hilltribe people are the Indigenous culture of Thailand, typically living in remote villages that …

Māori (Flexible) Learning Spaces, Old And New, Georgina Tuari Stewart, Leon Benade, Valance Smith, Alastair Wells, Amanda Yates

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Māori aspirations in education have not been served by past national policies. It is hard to extinguish the influence of monoculturalism, whereby schools were used to colonise Māori by enforcing linguistic and cultural assimilation. The history of debate on Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) and Flexible Learning Spaces (FLS) demonstrates the ongoing dominance of this Eurocentric, monocultural approach. Official New Zealand education policy and practice follows international trends in school design, moving away from traditional single-cell classrooms towards more open and inter-connected spaces, despite no real evidence concerning the relative effects on learning of each classroom type. Meanwhile, school marae have …

Development Of An In-Service Teacher Educator: Becoming, Doing, Knowing, Being And Belonging Through The Tensions, Fatma Gümüşok, Gölge Seferoğlu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This qualitative case study analyses the professional identity development of an in-service teacher educator (ISTE) through her conceptualisations and tensions. The participant possesses multiple degrees in different fields (BA in physics teaching, MA and PhD in Educational Administration) and became an ISTE in English Language Teaching (ELT) with this interdisciplinary background. We mainly focused on her lived experiences of developing as an ISTE in ELT in the context of in-service teacher education (INSET) in Türkiye. The thematic content analysis of an in-depth face-to-face interview suggests that resolving tensions early may be needed for ISTEs to persevere in their new job. …

Chinese-Speaking Undergraduates In Australia: A Lexical Approach To Teaching Academic Writing, Qin Chen, Anne Thwaite, Brian Moon

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Chinese-speaking students enroll in Australian tertiary institutions in large numbers. Success for these international students is heavily dependent upon their mastering the conventions of academic writing in English. How best to ensure such mastery among EAL learners has been a matter of debate among tertiary educators and language specialists, with competing theories and methods proposed. This paper reports on an attempt to improve English academic writing through intensive lexical instruction, a method proposed by Ackermann & Chen (2013), Boers et al. (2016), Lewis (1993), Selivan (2018), Wray (2005, 2018) and others. Nine Chinese-speaking tertiary students were offered training in recognising …

Four Esol Graduate Students’ Hybrid Learning Through A Reflective Project: A Qualitative Case Study, Ho-Ryong Park

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This is a qualitative case study to investigate English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) graduate students’ learning experiences when completing a reflective project. Four graduate students in the United States participated in this study and completed the project to share their linguistic and cultural stories in a traditional paper-based essay format and in a multimedia format. The data consisted of a reflection paper, digital storytelling (DST), a project report, an oral presentation, and an interview, which were analysed through content analysis. The findings included participants’ learning of (a) language and culture, (b) language teaching, (c) language teachers’ responsibilities, and …

A Q-Methodology Of Preservice Teachers’ Cognition Of Digital Literacy: A Philippine Case Study In Resource-Rich And Resource-Limited Settings, Camilla Vizconde, Rowena Sto. Tomas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aims to determine the existing digital literacy notions of Filipino preservice in two universities: one is a resource-rich context while the other is a resource-limited context. Contexts were determined based on the observed availability of digital tools. Twenty (20) preservice teachers each from two universities were invited for interviews after which they were again requested to arrange statements culled from the interviews. Utilizing the Q-sort methodology, a method that determines the standpoints of participants by their ranking of statements, three dimensions were identified: the portrait of balance, portrait of responsibility and portrait of support. The portraits represent the …

In-House Efforts To Enhance Pre-Service Language Teachers’ Intercultural Competence, Nur Gedik Bal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The goal of the current study was to ascertain pre-service English language teachers’ impressions of the impact of thematic speaking tasks on the development of their intercultural competence in an online Spoken English course. Moreover, the effect of certain demographic variables on pre-service teachers’ cultural intelligence (CQ) was also investigated. The findings revealed a significant difference between the CQ of students with and without overseas experience. Pre-service teachers who could speak languages other than their mother tongue and English had significantly higher CQ scores than students who could not speak other languages. However, there was not a significant difference between …

Walking Carefully Towards Bridging The Gap: Exploring Australian Music Educator Voices About Teaching Indigenous Music, Dawn Joseph, Bradley Merrick

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Facilitating an inclusive pedagogy to close the gap that exists within the teaching of Indigenous Knowledge in Australia is a tall order for many teachers. This paper draws on responses to a national study and explores how music educators include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and culture into their practice. An online survey (December 2022-February 2023, N=109) informed the findings. Using thematic analysis, two themes (teaching challenges and opportunities, and bridging the gap) are discussed and key recommendations offered. Findings suggest that walking carefully towards bridging the gap is an opportunity for educational change in contemporary Australian classrooms.

Fifth Graders’ Use Of Gesture And Models When Translanguaging During A Content And Language Integrated Science Class In Hong Kong, Melanie Williams

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Translanguaging in science includes the use of semiotic repertoires complete with non-linguistic modes of meaning (e.g. gesture, tactile) that until recently have gone unnoticed in research into content language integrated learning (CLIL). Currently, there are calls for classroom research in CLIL settings that examines the semiotic processes in the spontaneous translanguaging of emergent bilinguals. In response, this study aims to expand bilingualism research by investigating the ways in which fifth-grade emergent bilinguals’ draw from their semiotic repertoires when translanguaging in content-based science lessons. Multimodal transcriptions made from video recordings of the lessons allow a cross-case analysis of the emergent bilinguals’ …

Preservice Teachers’ Encounters With Dual Language Picturebooks, Nicola Daly, Kathy G. Short

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Our action research explored the potentialities of dual language picturebooks related to language inquiries with preservice teachers. For six weeks, preservice teachers browsed picturebooks featuring English and another language, starting with a familiar language and moving to unfamiliar languages. After browsing, we shared our responses to the books, made connections across books, and engaged in experiences to think about language. Initial comments indicated that readers were not familiar with dual language picturebooks and connected to their own complex personal relationships with language. The preservice teachers engaged in inquiries around audience and book design, including issues such as Indigenous books signalling …

Educational Policies And Schooling For Arabic Speaking Refugee Children In Australia And Turkey, Nina Maadad, Munube Yilmaz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper aims to compare refugee settlement and education policies between two geographically and culturally distinct nations, Australia and Turkey. Due to its geographical position in the Middle East, Turkey now hosts millions of refugees especially following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Australia also has a long history of hosting and supporting refugees from many countries and the Arabic-speaking nations are no exception. Conducting a comparative historical analysis, this study aims to fill the gap in our knowledge about the education policies and practices of both countries. Based on the expectations and needs of refugee students, …

Digital Representation For Assessment Of Spoken Efl At University Level: A Case Study In Vietnam, Thi Bich Hiep Vu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Assessing the speaking performance of students who are studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has mainly been conducted with face-to-face speaking tests. While such tests are undoubtedly interactive and authentic, they have been criticised for subjective scoring, as well as lacking an effective test delivery method and recordings for later review.

Technology has increasingly been integrated into speaking tests over the last decade and become known as computer-assisted or computer-based assessment of speaking. Although this method is widely acknowledged to measure certain aspects of language speaking effectively, such as pronunciation and grammar, it has not yet proved to be …

An Exploration Of Virtual Reality To Facilitate Authentic Tasks In Efl Learning In A Vietnamese Tertiary Setting, Thi Ngoc Diem Hoang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

During the past decade, English language teaching has received more consideration in Vietnam than ever before evidenced by strategic funding by the government. However, the English competence of the Vietnamese population remains low due to the lack of an authentic learning environment inside and outside the classroom despite significant and ongoing national investment. A suggested solution to this issue is the synergy of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and virtual reality (VR) mobile technology to create an authentic language learning environment. The potential of technology to facilitate language learning is a recognised but underresearched area of language education in higher education …

Efl Literacy Teaching In Relation To Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Experience And Native Language, Stephanie Fuchs, Tami Katzir, Janina Kahn-Horwitz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy is necessary for the career success of non-English speaking students. Many students lack adequate EFL literacy skills which may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and practice. Teachers’ self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing, years of teaching experience, and/or native language may influence their selection of components for EFL literacy instruction. This study examines these components as they are perceived by teachers. One hundred and sixty-seven Israeli EFL elementary school teachers completed online questionnaires. Findings showed a weak correlation between teachers’ self-efficacy and their instructional approach. Teaching experience …

Student Articulations Of Critical Multicultural Education Concepts From One Study Abroad Experience In New Zealand, Erika Feinauer, Erin Feinauer Whiting

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines how six teacher candidates in one U.S. based teacher preparation program articulate understandings of critical multicultural education concepts after a field experience in a study abroad program in New Zealand. Teacher candidates were interviewed about their understandings of culture, privilege, and social inequality. Field placements were in high poverty elementary schools with high numbers of linguistic and ethnic minority students. Teacher candidate responses revealed development of cultural appreciation but a lack of engagement with issues related to privilege and social inequality. Teacher candidates further had difficulty articulating issues of power and systemic privilege enacted either in the …

Teachers’ Experiences Of Educating Eal Students In Mainstream Primary And Secondary Classrooms, Jessica Premier

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in multicultural schools in Victoria. It explores the way in which teachers meet the needs of EAL students in their classrooms, and the support that is available to assist them to do so. This paper reports that teaching practice, school leadership, professional learning, and identity, influence the way in which teachers educate …

The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.

Second Language Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Pedagogical Practices, Collaborations, And Relationships With Other Teachers Through Professional Development, Simone Smala, Robyn M. Gillies, Katherine Mclay, Huong Ngyuen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on the relationship between language teacher practices and their collaborations with other teachers through professional development. The paper argues that there is a link between the disposition to use evidence-based practices in language teaching, and ongoing reinforcement of such practices through dialogic exchange in professional practice sessions. Furthermore, the paper understands the learning and development of such disposition as a career-long endeavour, first encountered in quality teacher education programs and then continued by committing to ongoing professional development. Survey data were collected from a group of language teachers from various second languages in primary and secondary schools …

Literacy Uses And Practices Of Schoolchildren Living In A Contemporary Malaysian Context, Syerina Syahrin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports the uses and practices of literacy in English of primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. Data was gathered from two children, their parents and the English subject teacher. The results reveal four major findings. First, the results reveal that the students’ experience with out-of-school literacies in English were largely afforded by new technologies Second, popular culture played a considerable role in the students’ out-of-school lives. Third, the students’ engagement with out-of-school texts was influenced by cultural artefacts and social discourses, and fourth, there were also complementing and contrasting literacy practices reflected in both environments. This paper argues that …

A Case-Based Tool Promoting Teacher’S Reflection On Intercultural Encounters, Anuleena Kimanen, Tapani Innanen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This design-based study explores what kind of reflection in-service or student teachers produced in case-based discussion workshops, and how. Worksheets on the case and tasks facilitated discussion in small groups. In this study, the targets of reflection written on those sheets are analysed. Three levels and seven categories of reflection emerged, ranging from context and practices to principles and power relations. Most of the reflection was superficial or on the meso-level, the level of deepest reflection was reached to greatly differing degrees depending on the group or case concerned. Both some in-service and some student teachers needed scaffolding by …

Intercultural Communication Competence In Upper Primary Students: International Collaboration Case Studies Using Web 2.0 Technologies, Rebecca Louise Duyckers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Globalisation has seen our world become increasingly interconnected through the rapid expansion of digital technologies. Intercultural communication competence is a key aspect of global competence for young people to develop their skills, values and behaviours as global citizens. The rapid expansion of the social web (Web 2.0) enables teachers to create rich authentic learning experiences that foster the development of students’ intercultural communication competence through synchronous and asynchronous web tools. The inclusion of these learning experiences engage students beyond the traditional classroom, enabling them to improve and advance 21st Century skills of collaboration, critical and creative thinking, perseverance, interpretation and …