Abstract
This chapter stems from the concepts of educational equity and inclusion, i.e. the principles of ensuring that each student is given the means to develop to their full potential, regardless of their life circumstances and in full respect of their abilities (OECD. (2023). Equity and inclusion in education: Finding strength through diversity). Equity and inclusion are often described as vital for promoting social cohesion (Cerna et al. (2021). Promoting inclusive education for diverse societies: A conceptual framework (OECD Education Working Papers No. 260)), as they relate to its key dimensions, including social networks, belonging, shared norms and values, and access to resources (Meier & Smala. (2022). Languages and social cohesion: A transdisciplinary literature review. Routledge).
In postmigrant societies, multilingual classrooms are crucial sites for guaranteeing equity and inclusion, and this also implies recognising the linguistic resources that students bring to class as valuable capital (Cummins. (2021). Rethinking the education of multilingual learners: A critical analysis of theoretical concepts. Multilingual Matters). While schools in South Tyrol (Italy) have extensive experience in promoting the three institutional languages (Italian, German and Ladin) and English, the languages of immigrant communities still often remain unacknowledged. This underscores the need for policies and practices that embrace a language-as-resource perspective whereby plurilingual students and their families are constructed as epistemic agents (Kerfoot & Bello-Nonjengele, (2023). Towards epistemic justice: Constructing knowers in multilingual classrooms. Applied Linguistics, 44(3), 462–484) and their funds of knowledge (Moll et al. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31, 132–141) fully leveraged.
This chapter addresses this need by drawing on qualitative data from visual documentation, individual interviews and focus groups with a team of eight primary schoolteachers. Findings illustrate how the teachers’ stances and pedagogical practices evolved over the course of a 2-year research and professional development initiative on inclusive plurilingual education. The chapter also reports on the effect such development had on the teachers’ agentive (re)positioning of themselves, their students and their students’ families, and illuminates the potential of inclusive plurilingual education to foster ideological values, social networks and emotional bonds that contribute to educational equity and social cohesion.