Fidelity to participants when researching multilingual language teachers: A systematic review

Abstract

The research field of multilingualism in education has grown exponentially over the last two decades, with more and more studies published every year on the need for teachers to validate the whole linguistic repertoire of their students and help them draw on their multilingualism as a resource. What has, conversely, not been accorded sufficient attention by researchers is the multilingualism of the teachers tasked with realising this. This oversight, as it were, raises ethical issues for researchers that go beyond macro ethical considerations like the need to ensure participant anonymity, their protection from harm, and data confidentiality. Education is itself a complex, ethical enterprise, where engagement with teachers and students requires greater faithfulness, exactitude, and respect on the part of researchers. The need for such engagement, from an ethical standpoint, has been magnified as governments globally implement multilingual initiatives in schools and universities that encourage teachers to harness the growing linguistic and cultural diversity that surrounds them (and of which they are a part). Based on a systematic review of 59 published works between 2016 and 2021, this article discusses the importance of adopting a fidelity‐to‐participants approach when researching multilingual language teachers. Such an approach has been missing from most studies, yet it would benefit researchers and their participants, as well as policymakers and educators in several ways.

“Do I Have to Sign My Real Name?” Ethical and Methodological Challenges in Multilingual Research with Adult SLIFE Learning French as a Second Language

“…Two main observations were made: SLIFE are largely underrepresented in second language acquisition and teaching literature (Andringa and Godfroid 2020) and, in studies involving data collection with SLIFE participants (i.e., Kurvers et al 2015;Strube 2010), ethical and methodological issues are not thoroughly presented. Facing this literature gap and wishing to engage in a process guided by awareness of the participants' realities and by faithfulness towards them as individuals (Calafato 2022), we consulted refugee research as it most captured the particularities of our study population and could highlight important issues not to be missed (Mackenzie et al 2007). Although our participants were not always refugees (some of them having come to Canada through other immigration paths), this field of research seemed to be the most closely aligned with the realities of our sample.…”

Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism: novel findings and methodological advancements: introduction to special issue

“…Furthermore, teacher educators are demanded to more intensively collaborate with parents and community members (Back, 2020) to better illustrate the importance of a holistic understanding of the issue at hand. What potentially has not received sufficient attention is a focus on teachers' own multilingualism (Calafato, 2022), investigated, for instance, through visual narratives (Melo-Pfeifer & Chik, 2022). This is particularly important as empirical research points to multilingual teachers showing more positive beliefs about multilingualism and integrating it into their teaching practices than monolinguals (Brandt, 2021;Lorenz et al, 2021).…”

Winter is coming? University teachers' and students' views on the value of learning English in China

“…This paper specifically looks at the influence of external factors on teachers' and students' perceptions, and correspondingly focuses on the instrumental value of learning English. As Calafato (2022) points out, there is a growing number of governments worldwide taking a top‐down approach to promote multilingual education by modifying policy and curriculum. This study aims to offer insights into the present changes in thinking under the circumstances of policy changes in China and provides some suggestions on foreign language teaching practices and curriculum improvement across different contexts.…”