Studying the Unsaid: A Methodological Discussion on How to Study Newly Arrived Children’s Possibilities of Participation in School Life When the Focus Shifts From Conversation to Bodily Orientation

Publikation: KonferencebidragPaperForskning

Abstract

An increasing number of children move with their parents to live in another country. Upon arriving in Denmark, these children are categorized as ‘newly arrived children’, whether they migrate because of war, work, or other factors. Since the summer of 2016 a common trend in several municipalities across Denmark has been to close reception classes from grade 0 to 6, enrolling newly arrived children directly in mainstream classes and Danish teaching practices without knowing the language. Yet, while there might be many reasons for doing so – being it economical, organizational, to promote inclusion or integration – we have little knowledge of how these children are able to participate in Danish school culture without speaking the local language.
This presentation is based on my PhD project and will present a methodological discussion of how to fill this knowledge gap. With few exceptions, most studies of newly arrived children are either based on interviews or have an analytical focus on conversations e.g., between teachers and newly arrived children. In doing so, they risk overlooking profound aspects of how newly arrived children try to expand their possibilities of participation in the social practices of school life, namely through the way they orient their bodies in the social and material environment.
Ultimately, this paper proposes affordance theory as way to focus on non-language-based expressions of participation in the social and material environment.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Publikationsdato2022
StatusUdgivet - 2022
Begivenhed2nd International CHILDLIFE Conference : Children and Young People in Everyday Life and Professional Practices - Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norge
Varighed: 19 sep. 202221 sep. 2022
Konferencens nummer: 2
https://uni.oslomet.no/childlife/konferanser-conferences/

Konference

Konference2nd International CHILDLIFE Conference
Nummer2
LokationOslo Metropolitan University
Land/OmrådeNorge
ByOslo
Periode19/09/202221/09/2022
Internetadresse

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