INTRODUCTION–Socially just plurilingual education in Europe: shifting subjectivities and practices through research and action

Abstract

The articles in this special issue explore approaches to research and action in language education that have the potential to transform subjectivities and practices in relation to linguistic diversity. They seek ways within education and teacher education to overcome what Gogolin ([1994]. Der monolinguale 'habitus' der multilingualen Schule. Waxmann Verlag) called the 'mononlingual habitus', i.e. the deep-seated habit of assuming monolingualism as the norm for all individuals and thus for schooling. In doing so, the contributors aim to (re)inscribe multi/plurilingual education in Europe as a socially engaged pedagogical approach and field of research grounded in ideals of social justice. In this introduction, we provide a brief overview of multi/plurilingual education in Europe, linking to current critical work on neoliberalism, language, education and social justice. We then introduce and discuss some of the key theoretical concepts used by the different authors for studying subjectivities (e.g. attitudes, beliefs, ideologies, mind-sets) as well as the methodological approaches employed in the articles. We close with an overview of the different articles that make up the special issue and by highlighting some of the enduring issues in the field of multi/ plurilingual education.

Policy and Practice for Multilingual Educational Settings

“…As already noted, since the turn of the millennium, European promotion of multilingualism and plurilingualism as a necessary, positive and a desirable objective in education has been running in the form of offi cial documents, frameworks and didactic proposals. Indeed, research has shown that the pro-multilingualism European discourse seems to have entered into theory teachers' mindsets (Erling & Moore, 2021;. In spite of this, in teaching practice, the monolingual habitus (Gogolin, 2013) still seems to have a signifi cant presence in classrooms.…”

Is Segregated Language Support Fit for Purpose? Insights From German Language Support Classes in Austria

“…Central to high quality instructional practices are also translanguaging pedagogies, in which learners' multilingual repertoires can be used to raise outcomes of students who may not yet have full access to the language of instruction. Languages are used flexibly, so that students can draw on a wide range of linguistic resources to benefit content and language learning, rather than being limited to their emergent competence in the language of education (Duarte, 2019;Erling & Moore, 2021;García & Sylvan, 2011). This has the added benefit of valorising students' identities and positively influencing their socio-emotional development (Conteh, 2018;García-Mateus & Palmer, 2017).…”

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

“…In other words, individuals, such as teachers, consider them to be true (Richardson, 1996), even if they are objectively seen as false. Nevertheless, studies in a recent special issue on socially just plurilingual education in Europe (Erling & Moore, 2021), suggested that increased awareness of their own beliefs allows teachers to be more reflective and prone to act toward educational equity for linguistically and culturally diverse pupils.…”