ERIC Number: EJ1173264
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-764X
EISSN: N/A
An Exploration of School Communication Approaches for Newly Arrived EAL Students: Applying Three Dimensions of Organisational Communication Theory
Schneider, Claudia; Arnot, Madeleine
Cambridge Journal of Education, v48 n2 p245-262 2018
This article explores the modes of school communication associated with language and cultural diversity, demonstrating how organisational communication theory can be applied to the analysis of schools' communication responses to the presence of pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL). The article highlights three analytical dimensions: the "external factors" influencing school communication systems; "communication models" reflected in school structures; and the "content of communication" between stakeholders. An exploratory study of a primary and a secondary school in the East of England, involving 32 semi-structured interviews with school managers, teachers, EAL staff, parents and newly arrived Eastern European students, reveals the interactional and transactional models of communication in the primary school, while the secondary school frequently used a linear approach. Communication in both schools showed a lack of information on EAL students and their parents, hindering a sustained outreach and empowering partnership, and possibly placing these students at a disadvantage.
Descriptors: Organizational Communication, Communication (Thought Transfer), English (Second Language), Elementary Schools, Secondary Schools, Semi Structured Interviews, Models, Immigrants, Foreign Countries, Case Studies, Qualitative Research, Influences, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A