Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Voices of Belonging (Voices of Belonging: Minority Identities, Language and Education in the Netherlands)
Reporting period: 2017-09-01 to 2019-08-31
Youth radicalization is potentially triggered by a sense of disconnect from society, and experiences of belonging carry important implications for youth identity formation. Language ideologies, policies, and practices in educational contexts send messages for youth regarding their belonging and/or value in society: the voices heard by youth. In addition, youth communicate their sense of belonging and the belonging of others through their words and actions, including their language choices and social affiliations: the voices of youth. The languages used and preferred by youth may or may not correlate with their educational achievement and identity positions. To illuminate the role of language and education in the development of a sense of belonging by youth in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts, this study focused on multicultural schools in The Hague and addressed, first, how youth experience, enact, and define a sense of belonging and/or exclusion in their linguistic and educational contexts, second, how the language skills, language use choices, and linguistic affiliations of youth intersect with their educational achievements and sense of belonging, and third, the role of gender and ethnicity in the intersecting influences of language, education, and identity for youth in ethnically and linguistically diverse contexts.
These questions were addressed through three stages of research: (1) initial observation for contextual depth and adaptation of appropriate questions, (2) a questionnaire to quantitatively evaluate correlations among language, education, and identity, and (3) a final in-depth interview stage providing student perspectives and supporting the interpretation of the findings. A broader objective of this research was to inform policies and educational programs that serve ethnically and linguistically diverse youth, providing foundations for the development of more culturally responsive pedagogy in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.
Preliminary findings from the voices of both students and teachers highlight the multilingual realities in Dutch high school contexts, alongside the prevalence of monolingual ideologies. Young people at diverse high schools in The Netherlands learns multiple languages as a subject, and many students bring language knowledge from home, yet they are immersed in a primarily monolingual school environment, with the assumption of Dutch-only inside and outside of the classroom. The discourses and policies that normalize the school as a monolingual space, reflecting broader trends, are in tension with the multilingual realities of modern urban high schools and the multiple identities of students.
Within education, deficit discourses are evident in references to the “language disadvantage” of multilingual students, and language policies are developed to address this language diversity as a problem. Language policies, which are often implicit, tend to perpetuate the monolingual norm and deficit discourses regarding home language proficiencies. Well-meaning educators advocate Dutch-only policies and yet nuance their views and practices through experience in multicultural schools. Young people sometimes conform to and sometimes contest monolingual ideologies, using their multilingual repertoires and pushing back against a school system that tells them to lose their heritage languages. The voices of youth and their experiences of belonging show the complexity of their multiple identities and multilingual practices. Students and teachers offer nuanced reflections on the implications of language policies and the meaning of belonging in diverse high school contexts.
These questions were addressed through three stages of research: (1) initial observation for contextual depth and adaptation of appropriate questions, (2) a questionnaire to quantitatively evaluate correlations among language, education, and identity, and (3) a final in-depth interview stage providing student perspectives and supporting the interpretation of the findings. A broader objective of this research was to inform policies and educational programs that serve ethnically and linguistically diverse youth, providing foundations for the development of more culturally responsive pedagogy in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.
Preliminary findings from the voices of both students and teachers highlight the multilingual realities in Dutch high school contexts, alongside the prevalence of monolingual ideologies. Young people at diverse high schools in The Netherlands learns multiple languages as a subject, and many students bring language knowledge from home, yet they are immersed in a primarily monolingual school environment, with the assumption of Dutch-only inside and outside of the classroom. The discourses and policies that normalize the school as a monolingual space, reflecting broader trends, are in tension with the multilingual realities of modern urban high schools and the multiple identities of students.
Within education, deficit discourses are evident in references to the “language disadvantage” of multilingual students, and language policies are developed to address this language diversity as a problem. Language policies, which are often implicit, tend to perpetuate the monolingual norm and deficit discourses regarding home language proficiencies. Well-meaning educators advocate Dutch-only policies and yet nuance their views and practices through experience in multicultural schools. Young people sometimes conform to and sometimes contest monolingual ideologies, using their multilingual repertoires and pushing back against a school system that tells them to lose their heritage languages. The voices of youth and their experiences of belonging show the complexity of their multiple identities and multilingual practices. Students and teachers offer nuanced reflections on the implications of language policies and the meaning of belonging in diverse high school contexts.
The first phase of the project focused on contextual grounding, including interdisciplinary literature searches and networking, as well as developing awareness of local language policies, the sociolinguistic context, and the presence of these themes in the media. Preparation for the project included contacting schools and interviewing educators (5). A collaboration with the Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching also provided access to more teacher interviews (49), which took the themes and aims of the project a step further with the addition of diverse educator perspectives.
In the second phase, the focus shifted to the development of the quantitative survey for distribution among high school students, including the completion and testing of the student questionnaire, informing parents and recruiting students for the study, as well as a brief period of classroom observation. The survey was eventually distributed by two schools, resulting in over 200 returned student responses.
The third phase of research focused on the qualitative interviewing and analysis, including finalizing the interview protocol, recruiting participants and completing the informed consent process, making online appointments, conducting in-depth student interviews (16), and transcribing interviews. The analysis and article writing for both the quantitative and the qualitative components remain in progress.
Throughout the course of the action, several academic publications were finalized based on previous research and collaborations (2 books, 2 articles, 1 chapter). Publications directly related to the data collected through this action will be uploaded as they become available (at least 3 articles expected). Publications based on the parallel collaborations that expanded on the project are also forthcoming (4 articles).
Communication to the academic community throughout the course of the action also included participation in 13 international conferences (10 presentations); 9 national conferences and workshops (3); 16 university research group seminars (6); 4 municipal research and planning meetings (1); and 4 educator workshops (2). The researcher also organized a seminar and co-organized a conference on youth languages, which resulted in a co-edited volume. Communication with teaching professionals included school partnerships and co-organizing and presenting at two teacher workshops focused on diversity issues, including development of a handout of relevant resources for educators.
In the second phase, the focus shifted to the development of the quantitative survey for distribution among high school students, including the completion and testing of the student questionnaire, informing parents and recruiting students for the study, as well as a brief period of classroom observation. The survey was eventually distributed by two schools, resulting in over 200 returned student responses.
The third phase of research focused on the qualitative interviewing and analysis, including finalizing the interview protocol, recruiting participants and completing the informed consent process, making online appointments, conducting in-depth student interviews (16), and transcribing interviews. The analysis and article writing for both the quantitative and the qualitative components remain in progress.
Throughout the course of the action, several academic publications were finalized based on previous research and collaborations (2 books, 2 articles, 1 chapter). Publications directly related to the data collected through this action will be uploaded as they become available (at least 3 articles expected). Publications based on the parallel collaborations that expanded on the project are also forthcoming (4 articles).
Communication to the academic community throughout the course of the action also included participation in 13 international conferences (10 presentations); 9 national conferences and workshops (3); 16 university research group seminars (6); 4 municipal research and planning meetings (1); and 4 educator workshops (2). The researcher also organized a seminar and co-organized a conference on youth languages, which resulted in a co-edited volume. Communication with teaching professionals included school partnerships and co-organizing and presenting at two teacher workshops focused on diversity issues, including development of a handout of relevant resources for educators.
The knowledge generated through this project provides a valuable contribution to current scholarly dialogue and provides a springboard for future collaborations and interdisciplinary research on ethnically and linguistically diverse communities. Conceptually, this research addresses the intersections between language ideology and language policies at multiple levels, and the importance of identity categories and/or paths to belonging in understanding these issues. The mixed-methods approach of this project also highlights the different lenses afforded by quantitative and qualitative analyses, and the value of different disciplinary perspectives. Beyond theory and methodology, this research is applicable to professionals providing formal and non-formal education to ethnic minority youth. Insights from the research are also useful in raising awareness of issues related to language and belonging. As future research builds on the current findings, a primary goal is to raise awareness and inspire practical changes in the education of diverse populations.