Suchergebnisse

This paper draws on three years of fieldwork within informal supported play-groups in inner Sydney. In Australia, some 40% of children reach school age without attending formal preschools. Aboriginal and immigrant groups are greatly overrepresented in this statistic. For these children, informal playgroups, funded from a range of government and non-government sources are important sites for learning. For children who speak a language other than English in the home, the playgroups also offer an opportunity to strengthen and support the use of the home language and connection to heritage cultures.

Using data from observations, audio and video recordings, interviews with mothers and
carers as well as interviews with play-group workers, literacy specialists and community
workers, this paper will examine the challenges facing these families as their children prepare for schools in which their home language will be 'submerged.' The case study includes an evaluation of a bilingual program within informal playgroups aimed at strengthening home language use among children from the Maori and Tongan communities. The program was designed and implemented in collaboration with these communities as a part of research discussed in this paper. The evaluation will examine the benefits and limitations of such programs as well as foregrounding those strategies that engage and support families in their efforts to maintain their home language.

The effects of these programs in terms of strengthening parental home language support cannot be underestimated and the results of this study highlight the importance of supporting home language in early childhood education settings through structured programs that are responsive to local needs.

Australia continues to develop as a multicultural society with levels of immigration increasing significantly over recent years as a result of government policies. More recently, the new period of financial turmoil, continuing threats from terrorism and environmental concerns, have all exacerbated the challenges of dealing with difference in our society. In response, schools continue to face the challenges of the impact of a range of different cultures, languages and religions among their student and school communities. How effectively schools deal with difference and how well they are supported in their endeavours to build culturally response classrooms is a perennial issue for both teachers and educators. A major challenge for teachers is to at a minimum, understand cultural differences as they manifest in their particular school settings and to draw on approaches that support student learning in culturally appropriate ways so to assist them to better realise their full potential. In this paper we will consider cultural diversity in the context of recent school policies, highlight a number of frameworks for addressing cultural diversity in the classroom, in particular the approaches by Kalantzis and Cope's (1999) and Hickling-Hudson (2003). We also draw on the findings from a recent qualitative study of representations of cultural diversity in a number of Sydney metropolitan schools to discuss the need for more greater resource and policy support for progressive teaching approaches that support the development of a more tolerant and inclusive multicultural society. Key words: cultural diversity, schools, teacher education, classroom practice, social inclusion

Australia continues to develop as a multicultural society with levels of immigration increasing significantly over recent years as a result of government policies. More recently, the new period of financial turmoil, continuing threats from terrorism and environmental concerns, have all exacerbated the challenges of dealing with difference in our society. In response, schools continue to face the challenges of the impact of a range of different cultures, languages and religions among their student and school communities. How effectively schools deal with difference and how well they are supported in their endeavours to build culturally response classrooms is a perennial issue for both teachers and educators. A major challenge for teachers is to at a minimum, understand cultural differences as they manifest in their particular school settings and to draw on approaches that support student learning in culturally appropriate ways so to assist them to better realise their full potential. In this paper we will consider cultural diversity in the context of recent school policies, highlight a number of frameworks for addressing cultural diversity in the classroom, in particular the approaches by Kalantzis and Cope's (1999) and Hickling-Hudson (2003). We also draw on the findings from a recent qualitative study of representations of cultural diversity in a number of Sydney metropolitan schools to discuss the need for more greater resource and policy support for progressive teaching approaches that support the development of a more tolerant and inclusive multicultural society. Key words: cultural diversity, schools, teacher education, classroom practice, social inclusion