[en] Our research is embedded in the multilingual national context of Luxembourg, a
small diverse country in Western Europe, and as such our research participants are
culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). Luxembourg’s public schools reflect
the diversity of the country, with 44% of students identifying as a nationality other
than Luxembourgish, and 55% speaking a first language other than Luxembourgish
(Ministère de l’éducation nationale, de l’Enfance et de la Jeunesse [MENJE], 2015).
Certainly, students draw on a wide variety of resources as they make meaning in
science, and a key resource in this process of meaning making is language, which
serves to mediate learning as well as position participants in the learning process.
However, for students with proficiencies in languages other than the ones used for
instruction in schools (such as the students we work with), the nuances of how
language(s) can serve as resource(s) for learning are crucial for researchers and
teachers to consider and understand. Science, language, and learning are interwoven,
connected, and we believe, inseparable, to the processes of science education.
In this chapter we use a critical lens to deconstruct the use of language(s) in
science education as we address the overarching question posted by the title of
this section, “In what ways does language affect (and is affected by) the science educational
process?” Throughout this process of deconstruction, we address several
critical questions that arise from our research and lived experiences connected to
Reconstructing Science
Education within the
Language | Science
Relationship
Reflections from Multilingual Contexts
sara e. d. wilmes, christina siry, roberto gómez
fernández, and anna maria gorges
c h a p t e r n i n e t e e n
254 | sara e. d. wilmes et al.
the relationship between science education and language. Specifically, we address
the following interrelated questions:
• Who decides which languages are used in classrooms?
• How can we create classroom spaces that value diverse student resources?
• What is the relationship between language used in science education, power, and
agency?
Disciplines :
Education & instruction
Author, co-author :
Wilmes, Sara ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Education, Culture, Cognition and Society (ECCS)
Siry, Christina ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Education, Culture, Cognition and Society (ECCS)
Gomez-Fernandez, Roberto ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Education, Culture, Cognition and Society (ECCS)
Gorges, Anna ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education (FLSHASE) > Education, Culture, Cognition and Society (ECCS)
External co-authors :
no
Language :
English
Title :
Reconstructing science education within the language I science relationship