Bilingual Childcare

Hitches, Hurdles and Hopes

By (author) Victoria Benz

Publication date:

16 November 2017

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783099177

This ethnographic study explores aspects of bilingual education in two early childhood German–English education centres in Australia. Using various sources of data and multiple methods of analysis, it investigates the processes at work when establishing and implementing a bilingual programme and examines the language attitudes, ideologies and practices of the parents, educators and administrators involved. It addresses the complex relationship between the childcare provider and its clientele in its socio-political context in an attempt to arrive at a broader understanding of institutional bilingual education in early childhood. The book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers in bilingual education, language ideology and early childhood education studies, as well as to teachers, trainee teachers and childcare providers.

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms

Transcription Conventions

1. Researching Bilingual Early Childhood Education: An Institutional Ethnography

2. What We Know: Language Policies and Provision

3. The Institution

4. Bilingual Programme Implementation

5. The Clientele

6. Value-Action Gap

7. The Value of Language and Language Learning

8. The Future of Bilingual Early Childhood Education

Bibliography

An intriguing and in-depth ethnographic description of an early childhood bilingual/dual language program in Australia. This study is enlightened with discussions of the politics of language and language policies, details on program implementation, as well as educators’ and parents’ attitudes toward the program. Educators, researchers, students, and parents would all benefit from this interesting book, which has application to different languages and countries.