Australia is recognised as a diverse nation and, generally speaking, the student and teacher populations in Australian schools reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity present in Australian society. This paper focuses on... [ view full abstract ]
Australia is recognised as a diverse nation and, generally speaking, the student and teacher populations in Australian schools reflect the linguistic and cultural diversity present in Australian society. This paper focuses on research into internationally educated plurilingual teachers working in Australian schools. With much already documented concerning the challenges and hurdles facing this group of teachers, the paper uses Bourdieu’s field theory to analyse the capital held by these teachers (in particular their linguistic capital) and their habitus as they build new professional identities.
The research was carried out in two phases. Firstly, a questionnaire was sent out to all primary school teachers and principals in the Sydney area. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gain a clearer understanding of the position of these teachers in the field. In addition, a group of ten internationally educated LBOTE teachers who have been working as classroom teachers for seven or more years were interviewed and also took part in a series of focus groups. The purpose of the interviews and focus groups was to; gather more detailed information on the opinions and beliefs regarding the value of these teachers’ linguistic capital; explore the ways in which these teachers apply their understanding of and experiences with diversity, multilingualism and multiculturalism to their classroom practices, and; identify the extent to which aspects of current themes of multilingualism and the multilingual turn, plurilingualism, translanguaging, and metrolingualism can be identified in these teachers’ teaching and learning environments.
The paper presents case study narratives of these teachers’ beliefs and experiences, and provides insights into the ways in which the teachers perceive diversity, the extent to which they believe the heterogeneity of their language and culture is an asset to their classroom practices, and discusses the possibilities for changing the logic of practice of the field.
While this research is based in Australia, the context is similar to other linguistically and culturally diverse societies and the experiences of teachers not trained in their current country of employment.
