Attitudes of Teacher Educators in Aotearoa New Zealand Towards Bilingualism and Language Diversity

Abstract

This thesis examines the attitudes of teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand towards bilingualism and language diversity. The research used a theoretical framework developed from the social psychology of language to test a model which incorporated a critical language awareness perspective. A postal questionnaire was sent to 831 staff at all 22 institutions providing teacher education for the compulsory (primary and secondary) education sector. The response rate of 63.8% was very high for a postal survey. Questions were based around three scenarios which investigated issues for a bilingual child in the classroom, the value of language diversity in education, and wider curriculum issues concerning bilingualism and language diversity. Ivanič's (1990) outline of critical language awareness underpinned the analytical approach adopted. The questionnaire design allowed for a comparison between attitudes towards Māori, French, Sāmoan, Korean, Russian and Somali students in the first two scenarios, by varying the language and ethnicity in the scenarios given to each respondent. Significant differences were found for five of the ten questions. Bilingual-supportive responses for a question about English use in the classroom were more likely by respondents who were asked about a French or Māori child, and less likely by those asked about a Sāmoan or Somali child. Bilingual-supportive responses for a question about English use at home were also more likely by those who were asked about a French child, and less likely by those asked about a Korean child. Diversity-supportive attitudes were more likely to be expressed towards Māori than any of the other languages for questions about a student teacher's accent, incorporating the language into a social studies unit, and children learning the language. A Russian or Sāmoan student teacher's accent elicited the least supportive responses, while French, Korean or Russian languages were least likely to be supported in a social studies unit. In the third scenario, attitudes towards language issues in the curriculum showed a medium level of critical awareness. A follow-up study to check on the validity of the research investigated materials from a group of 19 questionnaire respondents, and a comparison was made with their questionnaire responses. There was a medium level of critical language awareness evident in the materials, which generally showed a high level of congruence with the questionnaire. The model found that the teacher educators' approach to bilingualism and language diversity was determined by the ethnolinguistic vitality of the language groups (higher in the cases of Māori and sometimes French), and mediated by their levels of language awareness. Personal backgrounds were not found to be significant. This research points to the need for the development of a coherent theory of language in education in Aotearoa New Zealand, and highlights the role linguists can play in promoting knowledge on language issues. Results also identified a need for policy development to include all ethnolinguistic groups in the school curriculum. It is recommended that pre-service teacher education should aim to equip all teachers with the tools to support the bilingualism and language diversity of children in schools.