Pre-service teachers’ agency to enact multilingual pedagogies: A longitudinal case study

Abstract

Students with migrant backgrounds continue to underperform across European education systems, highlighting the need for teachers to be prepared for multicultural and multilingual schools. However, even teachers who are open to multilingual pedagogies report being restricted by monolingual language policies, language beliefs and assessment schemes. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the conditions for pre-service teachers to exercise their agency in enacting multilingual pedagogies within monolingual education systems. Through a longitudinal case study involving interviews with five pre-service teachers at the outset and completion of their teacher education in Norway, the study explores the following research question: To what degree has teacher education provided the necessary conditions for pre-service teachers to exercise their agency in enacting multilingual pedagogies within a monolingual education system? A thematic analysis comparing responses given at the onset and completion of their teacher education suggests that the pre-service teachers had altered their beliefs, acquired more knowledge and reported more skills in working with multilingual learners. Moreover, they had developed a greater ability to imagine alternative approaches to multilingualism and become more flexible in these approaches. The longitudinal and qualitative research design offers a detailed picture of pre-service teachers’ development over the course of their teacher education.