The Education Of Linguistic And Cultural Minorities In The Oecd Countries

This book provides an overview of the principles used by policy makers in western industrialized countries as they seek to meet the educational needs of cultural and linguistic minorities. The book synthesises data from more than 30 national case studies and consultants' reports prepared for an OECD-sponsored study.

This report grows out of a symposium focusing on Education and Cultural and Linguistic Pluralism (ECALP), a project of enquiry of the international Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). The report aims to clarify trends in multicultural education, and to examine the effects of cultural and linguistic development on educational systems in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report comprises an introduction and five chapters. Chapter I, "The Lines of Investigation," discusses the following issues basic to the study: (1) cultural identity; (2) greater cultural uniformity; (3) cultural relativism; (4) the new minorities; (5) multilingual contexts; and (6) the ethnic dilemma. Chapter II, "The Multicultural Context," describes the following sociocultural elements of the research: (1) the socio-geographical context; (2) urban changes; and (3) terminological misunderstandings. Chapter III, "Multicultural Education Policies in the OECD Countries," presents and compares systemic approaches to cultural changes in 11 member nations. Chapter IV, "Issues in the Debate on Multicultural Education," analyzes the following problems revealed by the comparison of multicultural education policies: (1) social consensus; (2) cultural identity; (3) competences of the education system and multicultural reality; (4) limits to multicultural education policies; and (5) weaknesses of the theoretical framework. Chapter V presents conclusions drawn from the analysis. Each chapter includes notes and references. (AF)

The volume provides papers presented in January 1985 at a symposium at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the subject of the various ways, means, and problems associated with providing a mainstream education for children of ethnic minorities in member countries of the OECD. The main thrust of the project was to analyze the consequences for education systems of the cultural and linguistic changes brought about by new lifestyles and forms of social organization. The papers are organized into the following four subject areas: (1) past and present: old problems, new issues; (2) cultural identities; (3) educational dilemmas; and (4) focus on the languages. Most papers are followed by one or more commentary. A final paper provides a retrospect on the information presented at the symposium. A bibliography follows each paper. (PS)

The difference between languages that children learn in the home (their mother tongues) and the languages valued by society and established as the medium of instruction in schools is an almost universal problem in educational systems. Proposals for mother tongue education, for bilingual programmes of various kinds, or for more effective teaching of literary or standard languages all depend on an understanding of the underlying problem of language education in multilingual settings. The writers of Language and Education in Multilingual Settings do not have a single view of the issues, for they are international in background and experience, and interdisciplinary in training and approach; moreover, as will be clear, they differ in political and philosophical beliefs, in scholarly rhetoric, in research paradigms and in personal circumstances. In this book, researchers from India, Yugoslavia, the USSR, the USA, New Zealand, Zambia, Denmark, Australia, and Israel discuss practice and theory in various parts of the world.

Celebrates Tove Skutnabb-Kangas' 60th birthday. Contributions from around the world on minority, indigenous, and immigrant education; education leading to multilingualism; linguistic human rights; language & global power issues.

​This book presents research on the situation minority language schoolchildren face when they need to learn languages of international communication, in particular English. The book takes minority languages as a starting point and it bridges local and global perspectives in the analysis of multilingual education contexts. It examines the interaction of minority languages and cultures, majority languages and lingua franca-s in a variety of settings across different regions and countries on all continents. Even though all chapters in this book involve minority languages, the issues discussed are relevant to any context in which more than language is used in education. The book reveals challenges and opportunities of multilingual education by discussing issues such as Northern and Southern concepts, language education policies, language diversity, interethnic understanding, multimodal language practices, power, conflict, identity and prestige, among many others. “This is the volume that finally accounts for multilingual education from a truly multilingual perspective by involving proposals and research from a variety of multilingual speech communities in the world. The (linguistically) rich Ethiopia and Mexico can teach the poor Europe and other Northern countries about multilingual education. CLIL promoters may learn from Finnish Sámi and Canadian Innu and Mi’gmaq indigenous communities as well as from Basque results. Speakers and teachers of minority and international languages will certainly be glad to hear the news. There is no need for a monolingual bias or tunnel vision in acquiring English in non-English speaking communities. This volume includes new challenging pedagogical perspectives while pointing to interesting conclusions for worldwide educational authorities”. Maria Pilar Safont Jordà, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain

This book examines the links between globalisation and the way we teach and learn languages.

This book is a study of the relationship between the education system of a minority and its ethnic identity. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork in one of the minority's schools and focuses particularly on the experience of school-leavers.