This article discusses the process of negotiating the storyline for videos developed as part of a... more This article discusses the process of negotiating the storyline for videos developed as part of an online Arabic language course. The project was guided by a social-justice-through-education agenda, explicitly aiming to redress the high unemployment rate of language graduates in the Gaza Strip. We illustrate how the international team designing the course gradually moved from talking about intercultural communication to doing intercultural communication during the process of creating the course materials. We also explore the meanings that the stories of the language course carry from the distinct perspectives of the teams based in Scotland and in the Gaza Strip.
This article discusses an action research study that involved the design and delivery of an onlin... more This article discusses an action research study that involved the design and delivery of an online training course for teachers of Arabic to speakers of other languages in the Gaza Strip (Palestine). Grounded in Freirean pedagogy, the course aimed to respond to the employment needs of university graduates by creating opportunities for online language teaching. The action research study explored the dynamics at play within the online educational environment, to evidence elements that challenged and/or facilitated effective collaboration between trainers and trainees. This article retraces and discusses the processes through which the course moved from didacticism to engaged critical pedagogy.
The discrimination of Roma groups across Europe has been highlighted by several international org... more The discrimination of Roma groups across Europe has been highlighted by several international organisations. For many, poverty, racism and their children’s systematic exclusion from education are ‘push’ factors when deciding to migrate. This study explores Roma mothers’ views of their children’s education post migration and their attitudes to education more broadly, by adopting an intersectional framework and examining issues of difference and belonging as experienced by Roma mothers and their children. While Roma mothers recognised the value of education for social mobility, they remained aware of the limited resources they could draw upon, in the absence of desirable economic and cultural capitals, and as a result of their ethnicity, social class, gender and ‘undesirable migrant’ status. There was a perceived hopelessness in relation to the chances that Roma children have to overcome their marginalisation through schooling, pointing to the need for dedicated policy interventions when working with Roma families.
This article discusses the experience of using photography in a research project with young (pros... more This article discusses the experience of using photography in a research project with young (prospective) migrants in Ghana and Italy. Photography can be an empowering research tool, one that offers young participants a degree of control over the research process and thus allows their points of view to emerge. However, researchers need to consider that the choice of subjects may be influenced by the children’s desire to avoid taking photographs in public, as they may attract attention and the act of pointing a camera may provoke unwanted questions and comments. Moreover, young people often lack the means to move independently, and this may further restrict the subjects they are able to photograph. Finally, they may resent adults’ intrusion into their free time and therefore see taking photographs as a chore. I argue that all these factors need to receive greater attention when choosing photography in research with young participants.
Education through the medium of a minoritised language is widely regarded as a critical component... more Education through the medium of a minoritised language is widely regarded as a critical component of language revitalisation initiatives. Given the demographic and social position of many minoritised languages, however, it may not be easy to find teachers who are fluent and literate in the language, confident about using and teaching it, and prepared for the demands of working in classrooms where the language is the medium of instruction. This article presents findings from a comparative study of teacher education programmes adopted in Catalonia, the Basque Autonomous Community, Wales and New Zealand, to prepare teachers to teach through the media of Catalan, Basque, Welsh and Māori respectively. The research was conducted to inform new professional development initiatives in Scotland, designed to enable qualified teachers to transfer from English-medium to Gaelic-medium education. The findings have wider relevance for other contexts in which the recruitment, professional development and retention of teachers to work in minoritised language medium education represent a challenge.
This article reports on a study that examined Scottish student teachers’ attitudes to study-abroa... more This article reports on a study that examined Scottish student teachers’ attitudes to study-abroad and the reasons underpinning their reluctance to participate in these programmes. Data collection comprised a mixed-methods approach consisting of a survey of 318 student-teachers in one Scottish university followed by semi-structured interviews with 12 volunteers. Descriptive and thematic data analyses revealed that the majority of student-teachers perceived international study experience as useful to their development as teachers. However, their lack of confidence and anxiety about travel were significant reasons about why they did not take up opportunities to study abroad. In particular, fear of not being understood and fear of different cultural norms and practices shaped their decision to remain in Scotland. In order to allay these fears and increase student–teacher participation, the authors suggest universities invest in intercultural competence training, language education and provide detailed briefings as part of the recruitment process into study-abroad programmes.
Language offerings in Scottish universities are diverse and have their own acute sense of their s... more Language offerings in Scottish universities are diverse and have their own acute sense of their situation. Some have a precarious hold, others are buoyant. In a research and teaching environment increasingly determined by league tables and “power rankings”, this paper considers a variety of insecurities which have manifested themselves in the context of the Gaelic Language Act (Scotland) 2005; in the changing landscape of modern languages, symbolically represented in the university sector; and through the new Curriculum for Excellence for Scottish Schools. In particular, it critically examines some of the less visible aspects and informal forms of language practices which thrive or survive in Scotland today. Drawing theoretically from Cameron (2012), Cronin (2003; 2006; 2012) and Forsdick (2005), and from postcolonial and indigenous scholars of languages, including Tuhiwai Smith (2012) and Muehlmann (2007), the paper considers the legislative environment with regard to language planning in Scotland and offers some theoretical ways forward.
This study is placed in the context of the continuing debate in Scotland as well as Europe, Austr... more This study is placed in the context of the continuing debate in Scotland as well as Europe, Australia and North America concerning the increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity amongst school pupils’ population and the corresponding lack of diversity within the composition and supply of the teaching workforce which remains, in most ‘developed’ countries homogeneously female and from the majority ethnic and linguistic group of each society. The multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multicultural pupil population is frequently posed as a challenge to education systems that involves under achievement of students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The aim of this article is to add a further, distinctive dimension to this debate by providing critical analysis of the ways in which linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity within a school environment are represented in popular culture. Based on the textual analysis of two episodes of the TV Drama Waterloo Rd (BBC, 2006 - continuing) the article seeks to explore the ways in which the ‘Other’ is represented in a television drama targeted at a young audience. The authors use Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model to investigate the properties of visual signs and language representation of linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity in a fictional secondary school. The article continues by exploring and discussing the circular way in which popular culture simultaneously expresses and reinforces the hegemonic understanding of linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity in schools
When talking about language in the context of research regarding children and migration, the focu... more When talking about language in the context of research regarding children and migration, the focus tends to be on proficiency in the receiving country’s language, as an indicator of successful integration and/or for its role in educational achievement. This article explores the social and symbolic aspects of language in the narratives of young Ghanaian migrants to Italy at several levels: that of global hierarchies of power as expressed through the prestige offered by different languages; that of the expectations for linguistic assimilation and linguistic maintenance which centre around migrant children; and that of young people’s challenging of adult rules, through the instrumental use of different languages.
When facing the prospect of moving to a new country to join their migrant parents, children’s exp... more When facing the prospect of moving to a new country to join their migrant parents, children’s expectations and imaginings revolve around entering a new school environment. While prospective young migrants show awareness of the challenges that learning a language may entail, the possibility of facing discrimination is seldom entertained. However, children who have recently moved relate that episodes of discrimination and even racism within the school walls are not rare, nor are they confined to other pupils. This article highlights the importance of non-verbal communication in shaping young migrants’ perceptions, and argues that children’s outward adaptation to school demands may mask sustained feelings of marginalisation and exclusion.
Researching children, and migrant children in particular, means having to strive to redress the i... more Researching children, and migrant children in particular, means having to strive to redress the imbalance of power that comes from the highly vulnerable position of the participants. The need to protect children from physical and psychological harm signifies that adults, in most societies, make the ultimate choice regarding children's participation in activities, while children's dependent position may mean that they do not feel free to refuse an adult's request for collaboration however strongly their freedom to choose is stressed. Researchers need to recognise the imperfections of a relationship that is necessarily unequal, rather than trusting specific techniques to solve these contradictions through their inherent power. Participatory techniques may help children's voices to come through more powerfully by leaving more space for individual styles of interaction and by opening more channels for expression; they cannot be relied on, however, to act as an infallible tool-kit to redress a power imbalance. The strengths and weaknesses of a multiple-technique approach (focus groups, child-led photography and individual interviews) used to collect data in Italy and Ghana are discussed in relation to the aims of the research, the age group of the participants, and the different geographical and social contexts.
This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhli... more This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to investigate issues relevant to the design of a new professional development course for qualified teachers wishing to transfer to Gaelic-medium education. The aims of such a course would be to ensure that such teachers enter the GME sector equipped with the requisite language and pedagogical skills.
Aims of the study
In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seek... more Aims of the study In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seeking women, this study aimed to: > Identify current roles and responsibilities of statutory services in Glasgow, and any challenges and gaps in the provision of these services. > Identify the impact of these challenges on asylum seeking women. > Highlight ways in which the situation of pregnant asylum seeking women may change as a result of the new Immigration Act 2016. > Make recommendations with a view to ensuring effective policy and practice that would address challenges and alleviate the difficulties experienced by this group.
This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhl... more This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to investigate issues relevant to the design of a new professional development course for qualified teachers wishing to transfer to Gaelic-medium education. The aims of such a course would be to ensure that such teachers enter the GME sector equipped with the requisite language and pedagogical skills.
This study focuses on the lives of Roma families living in the Govanhill area of Glasgow, Scotlan... more This study focuses on the lives of Roma families living in the Govanhill area of Glasgow, Scotland, who have migrated from Eastern Europe since 2004. The report examines their family and community life and focuses on their engagement with public services, especially in relation to children’s education. Building on work already available on Roma families in Glasgow (Poole and Adamson, 2008; Grill, 2012), this study aimed to identify: What are Roma families’ needs and experiences in relation to key services (education, health, leisure); What are the main challenges for services in working with Roma families; What are Roma children and parents’ expectations of schools and cultural attitudes to formal education; Which factors influence Roma families' engagement with public services; How can barriers in Roma children’s achievement be tackled. The research explored these questions in three main ways. Firstly, we analysed existing data on Roma children’s attendance and achievement; secondly, we spoke to Roma children and their parents; thirdly, we interviewed practitioners and observed practice in organisations and services working with Roma families. Findings showed that engagement of migrant Roma in their children’s education and with other services is complex and hindered by their poor experiences pre-migration. Although parents had aspirations for their children, they encounter substantial obstacles in taking up opportunities for engagement. In relation to other services, multiple barriers intersect to marginalise Roma families post-migration and keep them in poverty. Findings reinforce the need for different approaches to engagement of Roma families. Any initiatives require a unique, less formal and more personalised delivery and sustained mechanisms for wider inclusion.
A book review essay on The Gaze Of The West And Framings Of The East, by Shanta Nair-Venugopal (E... more A book review essay on The Gaze Of The West And Framings Of The East, by Shanta Nair-Venugopal (Ed.) (2012)
This chapter explores the values and goals of English
language education in the context of the Ga... more This chapter explores the values and goals of English language education in the context of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has been subject to siege for over ten years, with significant restrictions on mobility and three wars resulting in considerable loss of life and infrastructure, increasing poverty and rates of unemployment, and crises in education, health, environment and food safety. As a result, the Gaza Strip is quickly becoming an ‘unliveable place’ as warned by several reports issued by the official supranational organisations (e.g. UNCTAD, 2012; UNRWA, 2013; The World Bank, 2016). This chapter reflects on the work of one of five case studies which examine the use of languages in contexts of duress, such as that of the Gaza Strip, where the borders of the body, language, law and the state are implicated in the freedoms to speak and translate. This research was funded as part of the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Large Grant ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State’, within the ‘Translating Cultures’ strand. The five case studies that are part of the project looked at languages in different contexts and as used by different actors: in detention estates and with reception centres and NGOs at the Bulgarian and Romania borders; with former child soldiers in Uganda; with unaccompanied minors in Glasgow; on the US/Mexican Border in Arizona; in the Law Courts at bail and appeal stage for asylum seekers in both the Netherlands and Scotland; and, in the case study discussed here, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.4 The Gaza case study was generated from within the Gazan context and in response to the acute levels of youth graduate unemployment, often reaching up to 64 per cent among graduates in education (PCBS, 2016). The aim of the case study was to explore and to develop a grounded, participatory and contextualised approach to foreign language education in a context of occupation, pain and pressure. Our case study comprised two separate teacher training courses: one for teachers of English as a foreign language (TEFL) (Imperiale, 2017) and one for teachers of Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) (Fassetta, et al., 2017). In this chapter we reflect on the TEFL part of the case study and on the role of English in the Gaza Strip, and present some of our findings in relation to the values and goals of English education. The chosen research methodology was an interrupted cycle of critical participatory action research: 13 undergraduates of the English department at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) took part in a TEFL training course on ‘The use of the Palestinian Arts of Resistance in English Language Teaching’. During the teacher training course, Palestinian participants reflected and co-constructed with the researcher critical and creative language pedagogies, suitable for engaging with and representing the context of pain and pressure in which they live. The workshops and the data collected through a variety of methods (e.g. follow-up interviews, focus groups, evaluation forms, etc.) were analysed thematically through the lenses of critical intercultural pedagogy (Freire, 1994; hooks, 1994), which sees language education as engaging with the practice of hope, and by drawing from the capabilities approach (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 1997; Crosbie, 2014).
This article discusses the process of negotiating the storyline for videos developed as part of a... more This article discusses the process of negotiating the storyline for videos developed as part of an online Arabic language course. The project was guided by a social-justice-through-education agenda, explicitly aiming to redress the high unemployment rate of language graduates in the Gaza Strip. We illustrate how the international team designing the course gradually moved from talking about intercultural communication to doing intercultural communication during the process of creating the course materials. We also explore the meanings that the stories of the language course carry from the distinct perspectives of the teams based in Scotland and in the Gaza Strip.
This article discusses an action research study that involved the design and delivery of an onlin... more This article discusses an action research study that involved the design and delivery of an online training course for teachers of Arabic to speakers of other languages in the Gaza Strip (Palestine). Grounded in Freirean pedagogy, the course aimed to respond to the employment needs of university graduates by creating opportunities for online language teaching. The action research study explored the dynamics at play within the online educational environment, to evidence elements that challenged and/or facilitated effective collaboration between trainers and trainees. This article retraces and discusses the processes through which the course moved from didacticism to engaged critical pedagogy.
The discrimination of Roma groups across Europe has been highlighted by several international org... more The discrimination of Roma groups across Europe has been highlighted by several international organisations. For many, poverty, racism and their children’s systematic exclusion from education are ‘push’ factors when deciding to migrate. This study explores Roma mothers’ views of their children’s education post migration and their attitudes to education more broadly, by adopting an intersectional framework and examining issues of difference and belonging as experienced by Roma mothers and their children. While Roma mothers recognised the value of education for social mobility, they remained aware of the limited resources they could draw upon, in the absence of desirable economic and cultural capitals, and as a result of their ethnicity, social class, gender and ‘undesirable migrant’ status. There was a perceived hopelessness in relation to the chances that Roma children have to overcome their marginalisation through schooling, pointing to the need for dedicated policy interventions when working with Roma families.
This article discusses the experience of using photography in a research project with young (pros... more This article discusses the experience of using photography in a research project with young (prospective) migrants in Ghana and Italy. Photography can be an empowering research tool, one that offers young participants a degree of control over the research process and thus allows their points of view to emerge. However, researchers need to consider that the choice of subjects may be influenced by the children’s desire to avoid taking photographs in public, as they may attract attention and the act of pointing a camera may provoke unwanted questions and comments. Moreover, young people often lack the means to move independently, and this may further restrict the subjects they are able to photograph. Finally, they may resent adults’ intrusion into their free time and therefore see taking photographs as a chore. I argue that all these factors need to receive greater attention when choosing photography in research with young participants.
Education through the medium of a minoritised language is widely regarded as a critical component... more Education through the medium of a minoritised language is widely regarded as a critical component of language revitalisation initiatives. Given the demographic and social position of many minoritised languages, however, it may not be easy to find teachers who are fluent and literate in the language, confident about using and teaching it, and prepared for the demands of working in classrooms where the language is the medium of instruction. This article presents findings from a comparative study of teacher education programmes adopted in Catalonia, the Basque Autonomous Community, Wales and New Zealand, to prepare teachers to teach through the media of Catalan, Basque, Welsh and Māori respectively. The research was conducted to inform new professional development initiatives in Scotland, designed to enable qualified teachers to transfer from English-medium to Gaelic-medium education. The findings have wider relevance for other contexts in which the recruitment, professional development and retention of teachers to work in minoritised language medium education represent a challenge.
This article reports on a study that examined Scottish student teachers’ attitudes to study-abroa... more This article reports on a study that examined Scottish student teachers’ attitudes to study-abroad and the reasons underpinning their reluctance to participate in these programmes. Data collection comprised a mixed-methods approach consisting of a survey of 318 student-teachers in one Scottish university followed by semi-structured interviews with 12 volunteers. Descriptive and thematic data analyses revealed that the majority of student-teachers perceived international study experience as useful to their development as teachers. However, their lack of confidence and anxiety about travel were significant reasons about why they did not take up opportunities to study abroad. In particular, fear of not being understood and fear of different cultural norms and practices shaped their decision to remain in Scotland. In order to allay these fears and increase student–teacher participation, the authors suggest universities invest in intercultural competence training, language education and provide detailed briefings as part of the recruitment process into study-abroad programmes.
Language offerings in Scottish universities are diverse and have their own acute sense of their s... more Language offerings in Scottish universities are diverse and have their own acute sense of their situation. Some have a precarious hold, others are buoyant. In a research and teaching environment increasingly determined by league tables and “power rankings”, this paper considers a variety of insecurities which have manifested themselves in the context of the Gaelic Language Act (Scotland) 2005; in the changing landscape of modern languages, symbolically represented in the university sector; and through the new Curriculum for Excellence for Scottish Schools. In particular, it critically examines some of the less visible aspects and informal forms of language practices which thrive or survive in Scotland today. Drawing theoretically from Cameron (2012), Cronin (2003; 2006; 2012) and Forsdick (2005), and from postcolonial and indigenous scholars of languages, including Tuhiwai Smith (2012) and Muehlmann (2007), the paper considers the legislative environment with regard to language planning in Scotland and offers some theoretical ways forward.
This study is placed in the context of the continuing debate in Scotland as well as Europe, Austr... more This study is placed in the context of the continuing debate in Scotland as well as Europe, Australia and North America concerning the increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity amongst school pupils’ population and the corresponding lack of diversity within the composition and supply of the teaching workforce which remains, in most ‘developed’ countries homogeneously female and from the majority ethnic and linguistic group of each society. The multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multicultural pupil population is frequently posed as a challenge to education systems that involves under achievement of students from culturally diverse backgrounds. The aim of this article is to add a further, distinctive dimension to this debate by providing critical analysis of the ways in which linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity within a school environment are represented in popular culture. Based on the textual analysis of two episodes of the TV Drama Waterloo Rd (BBC, 2006 - continuing) the article seeks to explore the ways in which the ‘Other’ is represented in a television drama targeted at a young audience. The authors use Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model to investigate the properties of visual signs and language representation of linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity in a fictional secondary school. The article continues by exploring and discussing the circular way in which popular culture simultaneously expresses and reinforces the hegemonic understanding of linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity in schools
When talking about language in the context of research regarding children and migration, the focu... more When talking about language in the context of research regarding children and migration, the focus tends to be on proficiency in the receiving country’s language, as an indicator of successful integration and/or for its role in educational achievement. This article explores the social and symbolic aspects of language in the narratives of young Ghanaian migrants to Italy at several levels: that of global hierarchies of power as expressed through the prestige offered by different languages; that of the expectations for linguistic assimilation and linguistic maintenance which centre around migrant children; and that of young people’s challenging of adult rules, through the instrumental use of different languages.
When facing the prospect of moving to a new country to join their migrant parents, children’s exp... more When facing the prospect of moving to a new country to join their migrant parents, children’s expectations and imaginings revolve around entering a new school environment. While prospective young migrants show awareness of the challenges that learning a language may entail, the possibility of facing discrimination is seldom entertained. However, children who have recently moved relate that episodes of discrimination and even racism within the school walls are not rare, nor are they confined to other pupils. This article highlights the importance of non-verbal communication in shaping young migrants’ perceptions, and argues that children’s outward adaptation to school demands may mask sustained feelings of marginalisation and exclusion.
Researching children, and migrant children in particular, means having to strive to redress the i... more Researching children, and migrant children in particular, means having to strive to redress the imbalance of power that comes from the highly vulnerable position of the participants. The need to protect children from physical and psychological harm signifies that adults, in most societies, make the ultimate choice regarding children's participation in activities, while children's dependent position may mean that they do not feel free to refuse an adult's request for collaboration however strongly their freedom to choose is stressed. Researchers need to recognise the imperfections of a relationship that is necessarily unequal, rather than trusting specific techniques to solve these contradictions through their inherent power. Participatory techniques may help children's voices to come through more powerfully by leaving more space for individual styles of interaction and by opening more channels for expression; they cannot be relied on, however, to act as an infallible tool-kit to redress a power imbalance. The strengths and weaknesses of a multiple-technique approach (focus groups, child-led photography and individual interviews) used to collect data in Italy and Ghana are discussed in relation to the aims of the research, the age group of the participants, and the different geographical and social contexts.
This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhli... more This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to investigate issues relevant to the design of a new professional development course for qualified teachers wishing to transfer to Gaelic-medium education. The aims of such a course would be to ensure that such teachers enter the GME sector equipped with the requisite language and pedagogical skills.
Aims of the study
In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seek... more Aims of the study In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seeking women, this study aimed to: > Identify current roles and responsibilities of statutory services in Glasgow, and any challenges and gaps in the provision of these services. > Identify the impact of these challenges on asylum seeking women. > Highlight ways in which the situation of pregnant asylum seeking women may change as a result of the new Immigration Act 2016. > Make recommendations with a view to ensuring effective policy and practice that would address challenges and alleviate the difficulties experienced by this group.
This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhl... more This report presents findings from the Gaelic for Teachers study, commissioned by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to investigate issues relevant to the design of a new professional development course for qualified teachers wishing to transfer to Gaelic-medium education. The aims of such a course would be to ensure that such teachers enter the GME sector equipped with the requisite language and pedagogical skills.
This study focuses on the lives of Roma families living in the Govanhill area of Glasgow, Scotlan... more This study focuses on the lives of Roma families living in the Govanhill area of Glasgow, Scotland, who have migrated from Eastern Europe since 2004. The report examines their family and community life and focuses on their engagement with public services, especially in relation to children’s education. Building on work already available on Roma families in Glasgow (Poole and Adamson, 2008; Grill, 2012), this study aimed to identify: What are Roma families’ needs and experiences in relation to key services (education, health, leisure); What are the main challenges for services in working with Roma families; What are Roma children and parents’ expectations of schools and cultural attitudes to formal education; Which factors influence Roma families' engagement with public services; How can barriers in Roma children’s achievement be tackled. The research explored these questions in three main ways. Firstly, we analysed existing data on Roma children’s attendance and achievement; secondly, we spoke to Roma children and their parents; thirdly, we interviewed practitioners and observed practice in organisations and services working with Roma families. Findings showed that engagement of migrant Roma in their children’s education and with other services is complex and hindered by their poor experiences pre-migration. Although parents had aspirations for their children, they encounter substantial obstacles in taking up opportunities for engagement. In relation to other services, multiple barriers intersect to marginalise Roma families post-migration and keep them in poverty. Findings reinforce the need for different approaches to engagement of Roma families. Any initiatives require a unique, less formal and more personalised delivery and sustained mechanisms for wider inclusion.
A book review essay on The Gaze Of The West And Framings Of The East, by Shanta Nair-Venugopal (E... more A book review essay on The Gaze Of The West And Framings Of The East, by Shanta Nair-Venugopal (Ed.) (2012)
This chapter explores the values and goals of English
language education in the context of the Ga... more This chapter explores the values and goals of English language education in the context of the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has been subject to siege for over ten years, with significant restrictions on mobility and three wars resulting in considerable loss of life and infrastructure, increasing poverty and rates of unemployment, and crises in education, health, environment and food safety. As a result, the Gaza Strip is quickly becoming an ‘unliveable place’ as warned by several reports issued by the official supranational organisations (e.g. UNCTAD, 2012; UNRWA, 2013; The World Bank, 2016). This chapter reflects on the work of one of five case studies which examine the use of languages in contexts of duress, such as that of the Gaza Strip, where the borders of the body, language, law and the state are implicated in the freedoms to speak and translate. This research was funded as part of the Art and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Large Grant ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State’, within the ‘Translating Cultures’ strand. The five case studies that are part of the project looked at languages in different contexts and as used by different actors: in detention estates and with reception centres and NGOs at the Bulgarian and Romania borders; with former child soldiers in Uganda; with unaccompanied minors in Glasgow; on the US/Mexican Border in Arizona; in the Law Courts at bail and appeal stage for asylum seekers in both the Netherlands and Scotland; and, in the case study discussed here, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.4 The Gaza case study was generated from within the Gazan context and in response to the acute levels of youth graduate unemployment, often reaching up to 64 per cent among graduates in education (PCBS, 2016). The aim of the case study was to explore and to develop a grounded, participatory and contextualised approach to foreign language education in a context of occupation, pain and pressure. Our case study comprised two separate teacher training courses: one for teachers of English as a foreign language (TEFL) (Imperiale, 2017) and one for teachers of Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) (Fassetta, et al., 2017). In this chapter we reflect on the TEFL part of the case study and on the role of English in the Gaza Strip, and present some of our findings in relation to the values and goals of English education. The chosen research methodology was an interrupted cycle of critical participatory action research: 13 undergraduates of the English department at the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) took part in a TEFL training course on ‘The use of the Palestinian Arts of Resistance in English Language Teaching’. During the teacher training course, Palestinian participants reflected and co-constructed with the researcher critical and creative language pedagogies, suitable for engaging with and representing the context of pain and pressure in which they live. The workshops and the data collected through a variety of methods (e.g. follow-up interviews, focus groups, evaluation forms, etc.) were analysed thematically through the lenses of critical intercultural pedagogy (Freire, 1994; hooks, 1994), which sees language education as engaging with the practice of hope, and by drawing from the capabilities approach (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 1997; Crosbie, 2014).
Chapter 9 in Smyth, G. and Santoro, N (Eds) Methodologies for Researching Cultural Diversity in Education, Sep 1, 2014
"The choice of child-led photography for data collection is usually grounded in a rationale aimed... more "The choice of child-led photography for data collection is usually grounded in a rationale aimed at involving children in the process as competent actors, in order for research to be ‘with’ children rather than ‘on’ children (James, 2007). As technical equipment has become more widely available, photography has grown increasingly popular in research with participants of all ages (Pink, 2003; Banks, 2007). Predominantly employed in the context of qualitative research, this technique is often chosen in studies that involve young participants, as it is expected to reveal the world as ‘seen through the eyes of children’ (Banks, 2007: 5). This is particularly desirable given that young people’s interests and points of view are often ignored, or have a secondary role.
The unequal power relations that characterize adult–child interactions can be replicated in the researcher–participant encounter, as young people are used to complying with adults’ requests. This can be especially noticeable when research is conducted in an institution such as a school, where young people are expected to behave according to rules determined and enforced by adults (Morgan et al., 2002). Several authors (Punch, 2002; Langevang, 2007; Clark, 2010; Oh, 2012) propose that the adoption of participatory techniques can help to redress the power imbalance and give children an active role in the research process. Through photography children can be engaged directly in the data collection and thus involved as co-researchers and knowledge-makers.
The chapter outlines the aims of the study discussed and highlights issues of agency and power inequalities that commonly arise in research with young participants. It discusses the difficulties faced when analysing visual data and the dynamics and processes that influence children’s choices of subject when using a camera in a research context. The positive aspects of the technique are considered and suggestions made regarding ways to maximise its potential.
My decision to concentrate primarily on the challenges of photography for data collection does not reflect a value assessment of the technique. I aim instead to redress a tendency to focus primarily on the benefits, and to ensure that both advantages and potential issues are openly acknowledged and discussed, to allow photography to be chosen in full awareness of its value as a tool for research."
"In 2009, when we met, Georgiana was a 14-year-old girl attending a state school in the area of G... more "In 2009, when we met, Georgiana was a 14-year-old girl attending a state school in the area of Greater Accra, Ghana (all names are pseudonyms). Her mother and father had migrated to Italy when she was just a toddler. She was expecting that her mother, who had now divorced her father, would soon obtain a family reunion visa that would allow Georgiana to join her. In common with many other children of unskilled labour migrants worldwide, Georgiana had been left in the care of extended family members while her parents migrated. I met her, and 12 other young people in a similar situation, during my fieldwork in Ghana. I was researching the ways in which children imagine Italy, the country where their parents are, and I was also seeking to capture young people’s expectations, hopes, and concerns at the prospect of moving to join them.
This book details online academic collaborations between universities in Europe, the USA and Pale... more This book details online academic collaborations between universities in Europe, the USA and Palestine. The chapters recount the challenges and successes of online collaborations which promote academic connections and conversations with the Gaza Strip, despite a continuing blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007, and to forge relationships between individuals, institutions and cultures. The chapters examine, from different perspectives, what happens when languages and the internet facilitate encounters, and the fundamental importance this has as a form of defiance and of resistance to the physical confinement experienced by Palestinian academics, students and the general population of Gaza. They highlight the limitations of multilingual and intercultural encounters when they are deprived of the sensory proximity of face-to-face situations and what is lost in the translation of languages, practices and experiences from the ‘real’ to the ‘virtual’ world.
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In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seeking women, this study aimed to:
> Identify current roles and responsibilities of statutory services in Glasgow, and any challenges and gaps in the provision of these services.
> Identify the impact of these challenges on asylum seeking women.
> Highlight ways in which the situation of pregnant asylum seeking women may change as a result of the new Immigration Act 2016.
> Make recommendations with a view to ensuring effective policy and practice that would address challenges and alleviate the difficulties experienced by this group.
What are Roma families’ needs and experiences in relation to key services (education, health, leisure);
What are the main challenges for services in working with Roma families;
What are Roma children and parents’ expectations of schools and cultural attitudes to formal education;
Which factors influence Roma families' engagement with public services;
How can barriers in Roma children’s achievement be tackled.
The research explored these questions in three main ways. Firstly, we analysed existing data on Roma children’s attendance and achievement; secondly, we spoke to Roma children and their parents; thirdly, we interviewed practitioners and observed practice in organisations and services working with Roma families.
Findings showed that engagement of migrant Roma in their children’s education and with other services is complex and hindered by their poor experiences pre-migration. Although parents had aspirations for their children, they encounter substantial obstacles in taking up opportunities for engagement. In relation to other services, multiple barriers intersect to marginalise Roma families post-migration and keep them in poverty. Findings reinforce the need for different approaches to engagement of Roma families. Any initiatives require a unique, less formal and more personalised delivery and sustained mechanisms for wider inclusion.
language education in the context of the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip, in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, has been subject to siege for over ten
years, with significant restrictions on mobility and
three wars resulting in considerable loss of life and
infrastructure, increasing poverty and rates of
unemployment, and crises in education, health,
environment and food safety. As a result, the Gaza
Strip is quickly becoming an ‘unliveable place’ as
warned by several reports issued by the official
supranational organisations (e.g. UNCTAD, 2012;
UNRWA, 2013; The World Bank, 2016).
This chapter reflects on the work of one of five case
studies which examine the use of languages in
contexts of duress, such as that of the Gaza Strip,
where the borders of the body, language, law and the
state are implicated in the freedoms to speak and
translate. This research was funded as part of the Art
and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Large
Grant ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of
Language, the Body, Law and the State’, within the
‘Translating Cultures’ strand. The five case studies
that are part of the project looked at languages in
different contexts and as used by different actors: in
detention estates and with reception centres and
NGOs at the Bulgarian and Romania borders; with
former child soldiers in Uganda; with unaccompanied
minors in Glasgow; on the US/Mexican Border in
Arizona; in the Law Courts at bail and appeal stage
for asylum seekers in both the Netherlands and
Scotland; and, in the case study discussed here, in
the Gaza Strip, Palestine.4
The Gaza case study was generated from within the
Gazan context and in response to the acute levels of
youth graduate unemployment, often reaching up to
64 per cent among graduates in education (PCBS,
2016). The aim of the case study was to explore and
to develop a grounded, participatory and
contextualised approach to foreign language
education in a context of occupation, pain and
pressure. Our case study comprised two separate
teacher training courses: one for teachers of English
as a foreign language (TEFL) (Imperiale, 2017) and
one for teachers of Arabic as a foreign language
(TAFL) (Fassetta, et al., 2017).
In this chapter we reflect on the TEFL part of the case
study and on the role of English in the Gaza Strip, and
present some of our findings in relation to the values
and goals of English education. The chosen research
methodology was an interrupted cycle of critical
participatory action research: 13 undergraduates of
the English department at the Islamic University of
Gaza (IUG) took part in a TEFL training course on ‘The
use of the Palestinian Arts of Resistance in English
Language Teaching’. During the teacher training
course, Palestinian participants reflected and
co-constructed with the researcher critical and
creative language pedagogies, suitable for engaging
with and representing the context of pain and
pressure in which they live. The workshops and the
data collected through a variety of methods (e.g.
follow-up interviews, focus groups, evaluation forms,
etc.) were analysed thematically through the lenses
of critical intercultural pedagogy (Freire, 1994;
hooks, 1994), which sees language education as
engaging with the practice of hope, and by drawing
from the capabilities approach (Sen, 1999;
Nussbaum, 1997; Crosbie, 2014).
In the light of the current situation faced by pregnant refugee and asylum seeking women, this study aimed to:
> Identify current roles and responsibilities of statutory services in Glasgow, and any challenges and gaps in the provision of these services.
> Identify the impact of these challenges on asylum seeking women.
> Highlight ways in which the situation of pregnant asylum seeking women may change as a result of the new Immigration Act 2016.
> Make recommendations with a view to ensuring effective policy and practice that would address challenges and alleviate the difficulties experienced by this group.
What are Roma families’ needs and experiences in relation to key services (education, health, leisure);
What are the main challenges for services in working with Roma families;
What are Roma children and parents’ expectations of schools and cultural attitudes to formal education;
Which factors influence Roma families' engagement with public services;
How can barriers in Roma children’s achievement be tackled.
The research explored these questions in three main ways. Firstly, we analysed existing data on Roma children’s attendance and achievement; secondly, we spoke to Roma children and their parents; thirdly, we interviewed practitioners and observed practice in organisations and services working with Roma families.
Findings showed that engagement of migrant Roma in their children’s education and with other services is complex and hindered by their poor experiences pre-migration. Although parents had aspirations for their children, they encounter substantial obstacles in taking up opportunities for engagement. In relation to other services, multiple barriers intersect to marginalise Roma families post-migration and keep them in poverty. Findings reinforce the need for different approaches to engagement of Roma families. Any initiatives require a unique, less formal and more personalised delivery and sustained mechanisms for wider inclusion.
language education in the context of the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip, in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, has been subject to siege for over ten
years, with significant restrictions on mobility and
three wars resulting in considerable loss of life and
infrastructure, increasing poverty and rates of
unemployment, and crises in education, health,
environment and food safety. As a result, the Gaza
Strip is quickly becoming an ‘unliveable place’ as
warned by several reports issued by the official
supranational organisations (e.g. UNCTAD, 2012;
UNRWA, 2013; The World Bank, 2016).
This chapter reflects on the work of one of five case
studies which examine the use of languages in
contexts of duress, such as that of the Gaza Strip,
where the borders of the body, language, law and the
state are implicated in the freedoms to speak and
translate. This research was funded as part of the Art
and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Large
Grant ‘Researching Multilingually at the Borders of
Language, the Body, Law and the State’, within the
‘Translating Cultures’ strand. The five case studies
that are part of the project looked at languages in
different contexts and as used by different actors: in
detention estates and with reception centres and
NGOs at the Bulgarian and Romania borders; with
former child soldiers in Uganda; with unaccompanied
minors in Glasgow; on the US/Mexican Border in
Arizona; in the Law Courts at bail and appeal stage
for asylum seekers in both the Netherlands and
Scotland; and, in the case study discussed here, in
the Gaza Strip, Palestine.4
The Gaza case study was generated from within the
Gazan context and in response to the acute levels of
youth graduate unemployment, often reaching up to
64 per cent among graduates in education (PCBS,
2016). The aim of the case study was to explore and
to develop a grounded, participatory and
contextualised approach to foreign language
education in a context of occupation, pain and
pressure. Our case study comprised two separate
teacher training courses: one for teachers of English
as a foreign language (TEFL) (Imperiale, 2017) and
one for teachers of Arabic as a foreign language
(TAFL) (Fassetta, et al., 2017).
In this chapter we reflect on the TEFL part of the case
study and on the role of English in the Gaza Strip, and
present some of our findings in relation to the values
and goals of English education. The chosen research
methodology was an interrupted cycle of critical
participatory action research: 13 undergraduates of
the English department at the Islamic University of
Gaza (IUG) took part in a TEFL training course on ‘The
use of the Palestinian Arts of Resistance in English
Language Teaching’. During the teacher training
course, Palestinian participants reflected and
co-constructed with the researcher critical and
creative language pedagogies, suitable for engaging
with and representing the context of pain and
pressure in which they live. The workshops and the
data collected through a variety of methods (e.g.
follow-up interviews, focus groups, evaluation forms,
etc.) were analysed thematically through the lenses
of critical intercultural pedagogy (Freire, 1994;
hooks, 1994), which sees language education as
engaging with the practice of hope, and by drawing
from the capabilities approach (Sen, 1999;
Nussbaum, 1997; Crosbie, 2014).
The unequal power relations that characterize adult–child interactions can be replicated in the researcher–participant encounter, as young people are used to complying with adults’ requests. This can be especially noticeable when research is conducted in an institution such as a school, where young people are expected to behave according to rules determined and enforced by adults (Morgan et al., 2002). Several authors (Punch, 2002; Langevang, 2007; Clark, 2010; Oh, 2012) propose that the adoption of participatory techniques can help to redress the power imbalance and give children an active role in the research process. Through photography children can be engaged directly in the data collection and thus involved as co-researchers and knowledge-makers.
The chapter outlines the aims of the study discussed and highlights issues of agency and power inequalities that commonly arise in research with young participants. It discusses the difficulties faced when analysing visual data and the dynamics and processes that influence children’s choices of subject when using a camera in a research context. The positive aspects of the technique are considered and suggestions made regarding ways to maximise its potential.
My decision to concentrate primarily on the challenges of photography for data collection does not reflect a value assessment of the technique. I aim instead to redress a tendency to focus primarily on the benefits, and to ensure that both advantages and potential issues are openly acknowledged and discussed, to allow photography to be chosen in full awareness of its value as a tool for research."
To read the rest of this post follow the link http://bordercriminologies.law.ox.ac.uk/a-change-of-state/ "