Studying towards a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies and Leadership
Location: Rehua
Language, literacy and learning occur across all environments (both physical and digital) and across entire linguistic repertoires of emergent bilinguals. An important way educators and policymakers can value and support bilingual and multilingual children’s use of all their languages is to include their language and related cultural artefacts in their linguistic landscapes. This research describes the linguistic landscapes of seven early childhood centres and five primary schools to understand the language and digital technology policies and practices in the physical and digital environments of young emergent bilinguals, with a focus on educational services and their links with whānau. The two-phase data collection consisted of photos, screenshots, videos of linguistic landscapes and interviews with teachers and whānau. Findings show that Māori language visibility in educational environments increased significantly over one year, indicating development aligned with curriculum guidelines and a commitment to work within the bilingual context of Aotearoa New Zealand. Other heritage languages were less visible and teachers expressed a need for further support to engage with the diverse languages and cultures of children. Support and use of children’s heritage languages were enhanced by working in partnership with the children’s whānau to increase the value and authenticity of their languages.
Research Interests
Leona Harris is a UC doctoral student and lead research assistant for A Better Start: E Tipu e Rea National Science Challenge Literacy Strand – Emergent Bilinguals in a Digital World httys://ebdwwebsite.wixsite.com/ebdw. Originally a primary school teacher, Leona specialised in TESOL and has worked nationally and internationally in both primary and tertiary sectors. Her Master’s thesis was set in a Māori language immersion early childhood centre and explored the linguistic landscape (physical and digital) that supported Māori language development. Her future research interests are young children’s development of languages and well-being in environments with increasingly more mobile digital screen technologies.
Working thesis title
The language environments of young emergent bilinguals growing up in a digital world
