„Ich will mein altes Leben zurück“ – Einblicke in die veränderten Beziehungen, Aktivitäten und das Wohlbefinden luxemburgischer Kinder in der Pandemie

in Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung (2022)

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed children's lives. This paper presents the changes during the pandemic of children’s well-being, relationships and everyday activities from the perspective of six to ... [more ▼]

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed children's lives. This paper presents the changes during the pandemic of children’s well-being, relationships and everyday activities from the perspective of six to twelve-year-olds in Luxembourg. The data draw on interviews carried out in 2020 and standardised surveys in 2020 and 2021. The results show that all children were affected by the pandemic but experienced it differently. Many children expressed fears and worries right at the beginning of the pandemic and these emotions intensified over time. Their leisure time activities shifted from more outside to more domestic activities during the pandemic which in our view corresponds to an intermediate “domestication of childhood”. The survey in the summer of 2021 confirms that many of these changes remained or intensified. [less ▲]

When a policy gets implemented: literacy activities in multiple languages in a day care centre in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2022, September 29)

Interactions in joint multiliteracies activities in three day care centres in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2022, June 12)

Several countries have implemented multilingual programmes in early childhood education, trilingual Luxembourg being one of them. Since 2017 professionals in formal and non-formal (e.g. crèches ... [more ▼]

Several countries have implemented multilingual programmes in early childhood education, trilingual Luxembourg being one of them. Since 2017 professionals in formal and non-formal (e.g. crèches) institutions have to develop language skills in Luxembourgish /French, familiarise children with French/ Luxembourgish and value their home languages, for instance through literacy activities and common activities with parents. Many practitioners, however, are unsure of how to develop literacy in one, let alone multiple languages, and many rarely collaborate with parents. The longitudinal mixed-method research project COMPARE therefore aims to develop and explore multiliteracy and collaborative practices in the non-formal ECEC sector. The paper presents the literacy events in which parents and educators collaboratively engaged three-year-olds in three crèches in 2020-2021. The analysis of the video-recorded observations shows that the range and number of activities as well as the parents’ language use depended on the crèches. Parents tended to read and tell stories, frequently in a (prestigious) home language, and sing songs. The parent-led activities in these crèches reflected, to some extent, the pedagogical practices that 452 professionals reported in an online questionnaire completed in 2020 (Kirsch & Aleksić, 2021). We argue that collaboration with parents can propel the use of home languages in crèches and develop multiliteracy practices, but educators need to be aware of language hierarchies and have a good understanding of literacy. [less ▲]

L'impact de la pandémie de la Covid-19 au Luxembourg en 2021 : Les enfants de 6 à 16 ans partagent leur bien-être subjectif et leurs expériences. Premiers résultats du projet COVID-Kids II

Report (2022)

Cinq films du projet COMPARE : 1. Introduction ; 2. Literacy – Qu’est-ce que c’est ?; 3. Développer la literacy – Comment et avec qui ?; 4. Visite des parents – un enrichissement ; 5. Vers un partenariat avec les parents

Learning material (2022)

Introduction Introduction aux films du projet COMPARE Dans cette série de vidéos, nous vous montrerons comment développer la “literacy” avec de jeunes enfants et comment la collaboration avec les parents ... [more ▼]

Introduction Introduction aux films du projet COMPARE Dans cette série de vidéos, nous vous montrerons comment développer la “literacy” avec de jeunes enfants et comment la collaboration avec les parents et les bibliothèques vous aident à cet effet. Film 1 Literacy – Qu’est-ce que c’est ? Les expériences précoces de « literacy » ont une incidence sur les compétences linguistiques et narratives des enfants, sur leur processus d'apprentissage de la lecture et de l'écriture, et sur leurs résultats scolaires futurs. La première vidéo introduit le concept de “literacy” et présente des situations productives. Film 2 Développer la literacy – Comment et avec qui ? Dans ce film, nous vous montrons comment développer la « literacy » avec les parents et les bibliothèques. Film 3 Visite des parents – un enrichissement Cette vidéo vous montre deux exemples de collaboration. Une éducatrice et des parents expliquent ce que la collaboration apporte aux enfants, aux parents et aux éducatrices. Film 4 Vers un partenariat avec les parents Dans cette crèche, les éducatrices cuisinent régulièrement avec les enfants et parfois avec les parents. Des situations de « literacy » en plusieurs langues apparaissent spontanément. Des parents ainsi que la chargée de la crèche partagent leurs visions sur les effets de la collaboration. [less ▲]

Bildungspartnerschaften und Literacy: Erste Ergebnisse aus dem Projekt COMPARE

in Service National de la Jeunesse (Ed.) Zusammenarbeit mit Eltern und Literacy im mehrsprachigen Kontext (2021)

D´Wuelbefanne vu Kanner a Pandemie-Zäiten. Resultater a Perspektiven

Presentation (2021, November 18)

Das internationale Forschungsprojekt „COVID-Kids“ der Universität Luxemburg untersuchte die Erfahrungen und das Wohlbefinden von Kindern und Jugendlichen zwischen 6 und 16 Jahren während der ersten Welle ... [more ▼]

Das internationale Forschungsprojekt „COVID-Kids“ der Universität Luxemburg untersuchte die Erfahrungen und das Wohlbefinden von Kindern und Jugendlichen zwischen 6 und 16 Jahren während der ersten Welle der Pandemie. Die Forscherinnen boten Teilnehmern eine Umfrage von Mai bis Juli 2020 an und führten Interviews mit 22 Kindern aus Luxemburg durch. In diesem Vortrag werden die Hauptergebnisse der Studie vorgestellt. Die Pandemie führte zu einschneidenden Veränderungen im Alltag der Kinder, von denen viele Lebensbereiche betroffen waren. Schon zu Beginn der Pandemie äußerten die Teilnehmer ausgeprägte Ängste und Sorgen, die je nach Alter, Geschlecht und sozioökonomischen Status variierten. [less ▲]

Opening minds to translanguaging pedagogies: perspectives and practices of professionals in early childhood education and primary school.Keynote

Scientific Conference (2021, November 09)

In Europe, migration, mobility, technology and globalisation have resulted in multilingualism at the societal and individual level. These changes require policy-makers and educationalists to adapt ... [more ▼]

In Europe, migration, mobility, technology and globalisation have resulted in multilingualism at the societal and individual level. These changes require policy-makers and educationalists to adapt teaching. For the last decades, institutions and scholars have called for multilingual education programmes that recognise the existence of the multiple languages spoken by children. The policies of the Council of Europe encourage ‘pluralistic approaches’ as well as early language learning. In the United States, García and her team developed multilingual pedagogies, later called translanguaging pedagogies, that draw on the students’ entire semiotic repertoire to leverage their learning. Research findings in monolingual, bilingual and multilingual contexts testify to the benefits of translanguaging for learning, well-being and identity-building. Such programmes are in line with the UN convention of children’s rights demanding respect for their language, culture and values. While multilingual programmes have been implemented in early childhood education and primary schools in several countries in Europe, professionals seem to be unsure of how to promote multilingualism and deal with language diversity. This presentation is based on the perspectives and practices of professionals in early education and primary schools in multilingual Luxembourg where a programme of plurilingual education has been implemented in the early years in 2017 and where children follow a trilingual curriculum in primary school. I will provide insights into the perspectives of practitioners by drawing on several research projects carried out over the last 6 years in Luxembourg. I will show excerpts of interviews and observations that indicate that early years practitioners have opened up to multilingual education over the last years and are tackling the multiple challenges they face during the implementation of the multilingual programme. Translanguaging also exists in primary schools but a clear language hierarchy is in place and teachers and children do not draw on their entire semiotic repertoire. The presentation concludes with implications for practitioners and policy-makers. [less ▲]

Perspectives on multilingualism and multilingual literacies from early childhood educators in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2021, September 04)

The pedagogies of multiliteracies and translanguaging (García et al., 2017) call for multiliteracies, but early childhood educators are often ensure of how to develop practices in one, let alone multiple ... [more ▼]

The pedagogies of multiliteracies and translanguaging (García et al., 2017) call for multiliteracies, but early childhood educators are often ensure of how to develop practices in one, let alone multiple languages. The development of literacy skills is often reduced to the isolated training of phonological awareness or the letters of the alphabet. By contrast, storytelling is a holistic approach which contributes to the development of language and literacy skills (Sénéchal & Lefevre, 2001). It can promote multilingualism if multilingual speakers are involved (Kirsch, 2018). This presentation reports on the perspectives on multiliteracies of educators in crèches in multilingual Luxembourg, where 63.7% of the 4-year-olds do not speak Luxembourgish at home. Multilingual education became mandatory in 2017, requesting educators to develop Luxembourgish, promote French and value home languages. The mix-method project Collaboration with parents and Multiliteracy in early Childhood Education aims to develop literacy practices in multiple languages and with multiple actors (parents, educators) through professional development in crèches. In this paper we report the findings of interviews and a survey sent to 700 educators in May 2020. The latter were asked to identify literacy practices (e.g. storytelling), language-promoting strategies, and translanguaging practices. The data are analysed with thematic analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The findings will contribute to our understanding of current ideologies, pedagogies, and practices, and help identify issues and possible ways forward. [less ▲]

Head, shoulders, Knie et pés – singing one’s way into multilingual practices. Language policies and practices in ECE

Scientific Conference (2021, September)

While the European Commission (2011) has called for multilingual approaches in preschools and primary schools, their implementation is difficult and has rarely been studied (Kirsch et al. 2020 ... [more ▼]

While the European Commission (2011) has called for multilingual approaches in preschools and primary schools, their implementation is difficult and has rarely been studied (Kirsch et al. 2020). Multilingual language policies are likely to challenge traditional monolingual language ideologies and language hierarchies (Bergroth & Palviainen 2016, Ellis et al. 2011). The present paper looks at the non-formal early childhood education and care sector (ECEC) in multilingual Luxembourg, where a new plurilingual education programme has been implemented in 2017 (MENJE & SNJ 2018). It aims to develop skills in Luxembourgish (or French), familiarize children with French (or Luxembourgish) and value home languages. Furthermore, it encourages collaboration with parents and networking with social institutions (Kirsch & Seele 2020). The project COMPARE examines collaborative language and literacy practices with three-to-four-year-olds in crèches (day care centres in Luxembourg). This paper investigates the ways in which the educators in one crèche, helped by children’s parents, and the children themselves developed literacy activities in multiple languages and began to overcome monolingual ideologies. The data stem from seven video recordings totalling 29 minutes and fieldnotes written on four days over a period of three months. The data have been analysed with thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006). Our preliminary results show that the educators included six of the children’s home languages by engaging the children and their parents in a range of activities. They developed an inclusive stance to language diversity and, like the children, learned words in different languages. Thanks to the good collaboration with parents, they received home-recorded videos which they integrated into their daily practices. Finally, they considered children’s, at times, reluctant attitudes towards languages other than the majority languages and found ways of opening up their minds to language diversity. Children became the driving motor for the new multilingual practices (Boyd & Huss 2017). The findings are relevant for policy-makers, researchers and professionals because they show means to develop collaborative and inclusive multilingual practices and overcome possible challenges. [less ▲]