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Disambiguating with Bourdieu: unravelling policy from practice in the teaching of children with English as an additional language

Flynn, N. (2015) Disambiguating with Bourdieu: unravelling policy from practice in the teaching of children with English as an additional language. Literacy, 49 (1). pp. 20-27. ISSN 1741-4369

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1111/lit.12049

Abstract/Summary

This article explores the use of Bourdieusian analysis for examining how policy and practice interact in the teaching of English and therefore in the development of children’s language and literacy; in particular how Bourdieusian analysis uncovers the ways in which teachers’ practice has been influenced unconsciously by centralised shaping of the curriculum for English in England while the pupil demographic in schools has become more linguistically diverse. Data were collected from interviews with both newly qualified and very experienced primary school (pupil ages 5 – 11) teachers, whose pedagogical norms for the teaching of English were challenged by the arrival of non-English speakers in their classrooms. The discussion highlights how the use of Bourdieusian constructs of field, habitus and capital can disambiguate teachers’ practical classroom decisions from the influences of policy expectations.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM)
Arts, Humanities and Social Science > International Study and Language Institute (ISLI)
ID Code:44082
Uncontrolled Keywords:Bourdieu, grounded theory, curriculum for English, English as an additional language (EAL)
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell

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