Multilingual education towards social inclusion of the ethnic minority children in Bangladesh

Abstract

Persistently multilingual education (MLE) has gained increasing attention around the globe. Research shows that mother tongue as a school language benefits children’s early years of learning including cognitive, social development, and identity formation of ethnic minority children (EMC). This qualitative research investigated how MLE enhances the social inclusion process of the EMC in Bangladesh. The purpose of the research was to understand MLE as a phenomenon from the perspectives of its policy, design and implementation in the Bangladesh context. The research study used the lenses of a constructivist philosophical perspectives and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological System Theory which provided the theoretical basis to conduct this qualitative study. This study employed several research data collection tools, including document review, interview schedule, classroom observation guidelines, FGD guidelines, and field notes. Considering two different geographical regions (plain and hilly areas) and a set of different criteria set for the research, I have purposively selected two languages Communities-Garo and Chakma- out of the five language communities (Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Sadri and Garo) where MLE is being implemented. Including document review, data were collected from assistant teachers, head teachers, students, parents, and community people, and local education administrators representing two government primary schools located at two language communities. The thematic analysis technique of qualitative data was used. From the perspective of macro-system, the results indicate that a number of elements pertaining to social inclusion of ethnic minority children through MLE have been included in national policy documents. The development of the MLE Bridging xx plan that can be considered a Bangladeshi version of the "transitional model" of MLE is evidence of significant policy progress at the national level. It is a clear indication of the belief and commitment of Bangladesh at the national level towards SI for EMC through MTB-MLE. From an exo-system standpoint, the results show that the policy guidelines were unable to link local education administration and communities with the schools adequately when it comes to the implementation of MLE. As a result, the process of social inclusion of ethnic minority children (EMC) was obstructed at this level. The meso-system creates and extends different kinds of new relational dimensions between EMC and parents, teachers, and peers which contribute social inclusion process. However, the school practice and relationship between home and school remain traditional and the application of MLE did not result in the development of strong relationships among communities, schools, and homes. From micro-system perspectives, the research findings indicated that, despite the systematic development of the MLE bridging plan, the implementation process did not adhere to the sequential language allocation. While joyful teaching-learning strategies were observable in practice, the perspectives of MLE in teaching-learning were notably restricted. The overall school environment was found to be rooted in Bengali and English culture, rather than adopting a welcoming approach for EMC through cultural adaptation. Overall, although ecological connection was not fully established within the ecological system layers of macro-exo-meso-micro systems policy level initiatives in favor of MLE, MLE bridging plan and their implementation enhanced the process of social inclusion of EMC, and created scopes throughout the process. However, a context-based realistic strategic plan having ecological orientation for successful xxi implementation of MLE at every stage of the ecological systems towards social inclusion of EMC is yet to develop in Bangladesh. This research has potential implications for theory, policy and practice. It demonstrated a comprehensive theoretical framework to the audience who work in the field of MLE as well as social inclusion. This research opens up the horizon to think about MLE design and by using the ecological system theory. This study also demonstrated how an ecological theoretical framework could be used in MLE implementation. It provides insights into the strengths and limitations of existing policies of MLE towards social inclusion of ethnic minority children in Bangladesh context. In addition, it showed how a context-based realistic and comprehensive MLE strategic plan could be developed and more functional at different stages to enhance the social inclusion of ethnic minority children in Bangladesh.