The influence of a professional development on teachers’ and carers’ multilingual practices in early childhood education in Luxembourg

The need for multilingual pedagogies has been recognized and several multilingual programmes have been implemented in early childhood in Europe. In Luxembourg, where this study is based, laws were voted in 2017 that require early years practitioners to develop Luxembourgish, familiarize children with French, and value home languages. To develop inclusive multilingual practices, the authors of this presentation developed a 30-hour professional development programme (thereafter PD) which was long-term, collaborative, inquiry-based, performance-oriented, and included coaching. The participants carried out and video-record activities based on books and rhymes in several languages, reflected on these, and received feedback.
This case-study examines the influence of the PD on the understanding of language learning and practices of two teachers and five carers working in schools and crèches. The data stem from a questionnaire completed three times; twelve interviews; six observations of the training; 30 video-recorded activities; ten coaching reports, and emails. The methods of data analysis comprise paired samples t-test, correlational analysis, content analysis and triangulation.
The findings show a positive effect of the PD on understanding of language learning and practices. The teachers and some carers developed a better understanding of social constructivist learning theories which influenced their practices that began to focus on interactions between adults and children, and amongst children. The other carers understood the relevance of dialogue and carried out activities in several languages but their overall practice did not change. The findings confirm that collaborative, inquiry-based PD can be transformative (Gaikhorst et al., 2017; Prenger et al., 2017) and change perspectives and practices to some extent (Buschmann & Sachse, 2018). In addition, they add to the dearth of literature on PD on multilingual education in early years (Egert, 2015).

Buschmann, A., & Sachse, S. (2018). Heidelberg interaction training for language promotion in early childhood settings. European Journal of Education, 53(1), 66-78.
Egert, F. (2015). Meta-analysis on the impact of in-service professional development programs for preschool teachers on quality ratings and child outcomes.
Gaikhorst, L., Beishuizen, J. J. J., Zijlstra, B. J. H., & Volman, M. L. L. (2017) The sustainability of a teacher professional development programme for beginning urban teachers, Cambridge Journal of Education, 47(1), 135-154.
Prenger, R., Poortman, C. L., & Handelzalts, A. (2017). Factors influencing teachers’ professional development in networked professional learning communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 68(1), 77-90.