Investigating trust in a multilingual theatre project: Potentialities for a humanising pedagogy

Doctoral thesis (2019)

Education plays a vital role in shaping social realities by promoting dialogue, solidarity, mutual understanding, and positive social interactions. However, some pedagogical approaches are believed to not ... [more ▼]

Education plays a vital role in shaping social realities by promoting dialogue, solidarity, mutual understanding, and positive social interactions. However, some pedagogical approaches are believed to not shoulder the responsibility to counter current social, economic, and political forces in Europe and beyond that present challenges in terms of social cohesion and ways of living together. This study contributes to recent debates concerning a change of dominant school practices by recognising learning and teaching as collaborative processes between teachers and students and trust as a central element in education. Despite the interest in and positive appraisal of trust in education, little attention has been paid to concrete teaching practices and strategies on how to implement trust in learning and teaching. A case study of a multilingual theatre project of a primary school class and a video ethnographic approach allowed to explore details of classroom practices, (inter-)actions, and activities. This research set out to explore four questions: (a) What are “signs of trust” in an educational context?; (b) How and in what ways can a teacher build, maintain, or strengthen trust?; (c) How and in what ways can “signs of trust” shape interactions in the classroom?; (d) How can “sings of trust” be analysed? As a result of more than 80 hours of video-recorded participant observations and interview data, the results of this investigation show that the classroom teacher continuously and consistently maintained a work environment based on six attributes of trust identified in the literature: vulnerability, benevolence, reliability, competence, honesty, and openness. Most importantly, she valued and promoted responsibility, autonomy, collaboration, and peer support. The teacher’s verbal and non-verbal trustworthy and trusting behaviour is then interpreted as the driving force behind the pupils’ engagement as active, competent, and reliable partners in all aspects of the theatre project. In fact, the pupils signalled ownership of their learning, proactively and independently engaged with the curriculum, and positively oriented towards each other’s relationships and competences. Despite the exploratory nature and small sample of participants, the findings of this study highlight that education imbued with trust offers opportunities of growth for both teachers and students. Moreover, the data suggests that the achievement and maintenance of trust can be seen as a collaborative effort involving all members of the classroom community and facilitated by a myriad of meaning-making resources (verbal, non-verbal, with objects, even a simple look in the eye or a smile). If the debate about the value of trust for all learners is to be moved forward, a better understanding of the wider impacts on personal and social lives needs to be gained. [less ▲]

“Où est mon prince? Wo ist mein Prinz? Wou ass mäi Prënz?” – A multilingual theatre in education project in a primary school class in Luxembourg City explored through video ethnography

Presentation (2018, March 07)

Am Grupp Sprooche léieren (radio interview)

Speeches/Talks (2017)

Am Sproochecours duerch Theater Sprooche léieren – dat wor d'Konzept vun engem pedagogesche Projet, mat deem sech den Dany Weyer befaasst. D'Renée Wagener schwätzt mat him iwwer seng Beobachtung, datt d ... [more ▼]

Am Sproochecours duerch Theater Sprooche léieren – dat wor d'Konzept vun engem pedagogesche Projet, mat deem sech den Dany Weyer befaasst. D'Renée Wagener schwätzt mat him iwwer seng Beobachtung, datt d'Léieren sou net nëmme vill méi Spaass mécht, mee datt d'Kanner dobäi nach perséinlech gestäerkt ginn an Diversitéit am Grupp positiv erliewen. [less ▲]

Students as global citizens – International Panel on the Art of Cultural Diplomacy

Speeches/Talks (2017)

Plurilinguisme et multimodalité : les dilemmes de l’enseignant débutant en contexte linguistiquement hétérogène

in Forumlecture suisse. Littératie dans la recherche et la pratique (2017), 2017(1), 1-22

Les classes en Europe se diversifient. Cette diversification transforme l’exercice du métier enseignant tout en lui offrant de nouvelles opportunités de développement. Cet article explore l’hypothèse ... [more ▼]

Les classes en Europe se diversifient. Cette diversification transforme l’exercice du métier enseignant tout en lui offrant de nouvelles opportunités de développement. Cet article explore l’hypothèse qu’en utilisant des outils issus de paradigmes au départ distincts – les approches multimodales du discours issues de la sémiotique sociale et les travaux sur le plurilinguisme dans le champ de la linguistique appliquée – on peut faire émerger une vision plus compréhensive des dilemmes et des questions que la diversité pose, en particulier pour l’enseignant débutant. En partant de l’analyse d’une première leçon de français dans une classe très internationale et un contexte d’enseignement trilingue, l’article s’attache à dresser une première cartographie de ces dilemmes. Cinq défis en particulier sont relevés (relatifs à la différenciation, la reconnaissance du travail sémiotique, l’évaluation, la reconnaissance des répertoires des élèves, et aux compétences linguistiques des enseignants). La cartographie est posée comme un préalable nécessaire à une réflexion plus large sur les moyens d’action à mettre en oeuvre pour soutenir l’action enseignante en contexte linguistiquement hétérogène. [less ▲]

“It’s like society on a smaller scale” – First observations of a multilingual classroom theatre project in Luxembourg

Presentation (2016, December 09)

The role of theatre in education for developing multilingual skills and global competencies

Poster (2016, September 01)

Collaborative art in the multilingual and multicultural classroom: Appraising the role of theatre for developing multilingual skills and global competencies

Presentation (2016, July 23)

Das Projekt „Joy“ der Stiftung EME: Wie Musik hörgeschädigte Kinder und Senioren zusammenbringt

Bachelor/master dissertation (2013)

Am Beispiel des intergenerationellen Musikprojektes „Joy“ der gemeinnützigen Stiftung EME wird ersichtlich, wie kulturelle Partizipation das Leben eines Einzelnen bereichert und die Verbundenheit einer ... [more ▼]

Am Beispiel des intergenerationellen Musikprojektes „Joy“ der gemeinnützigen Stiftung EME wird ersichtlich, wie kulturelle Partizipation das Leben eines Einzelnen bereichert und die Verbundenheit einer Gemeinschaft fördern kann. Hörgeschädigte Kinder und Senioren begegneten sich von Januar bis Juli 2013 mehrmals im Monat um gemeinsam mit afrikanischen Instrumenten zu musizieren. Die Musik schenkte den Teilnehmern Freude und Vitalität und ermöglichte ihnen, die Probleme aus ihrem Alltag für kurze Zeit zu vergessen. Theoretische Erkenntnisse münden in Ideen, wie das außergewöhnliche Zusammentreffen als Fallbeispiel öffentlich präsentiert und das Aufblühen der Generationen offenbart werden kann. [less ▲]