ERIC Number: EJ1250707
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 38
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1740-2743
EISSN: N/A
Translanguaging as a Political Act with Roma: Carving a Path between Pluralism and Collectivism for Transformation
Smith, Heather Jane; Robertson, Leena Helavaara; Auger, Nathalie; Wysocki, Lydia
Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v18 n1 p98-135 Apr 2020
Translanguaging claims to advance social justice as a transformative pedagogy. This paper analyses a tension which developed over the life span of a European research project which aimed to improve the educational experience for Eastern European Roma pupils through teachers' employment of a translanguaging pedagogy. Roma are ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous, but as a minority group face continued racism, whilst Roma pupils face educational exclusion. The voices of Roma parents, pupils and activists and academics alerted us to potential threats in utilising translanguaging as a political act for transformation in education. They revealed a central tension between recognition of linguistic pluralism for emancipation at school level (with possibilities for policy level changes at local or national levels) and unifying endeavours for collective action towards equality and human rights at a (trans)national level. To understand this tension we reframed it in light of the postmodernist positioning of translanguaging, and critiques of the de-politicizing tendencies of postmodernism. In proposing a way forward for research and pedagogy, we carve a path between pluralism and collectivism by placing translanguaging pedagogy and associated research into Nancy Fraser's integrative model of recognition and redistribution for transformation.
Descriptors: Code Switching (Language), Social Justice, Teaching Methods, Transformative Learning, Minority Group Students, Minority Groups, Educational Experience, Postmodernism, Criticism, Racial Bias, Collectivism, Civil Rights, Politics of Education, Native Language, Language Usage, Second Language Learning, Parent Attitudes, Activism, College Faculty, Access to Education, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Slavic Languages, Romance Languages, English (Second Language)
Institute for Education Policy Studies. University of Northampton, School of Education, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK. Tel: +44-1273-270943; e-mail: ieps@ieps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.jceps.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; 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