The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools PDF

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The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools Olena Gundarina Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Education June 2019 ii The candidate confirms that the work...

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The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools

Olena Gundarina

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Leeds School of Education

June 2019

ii

The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others.

This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.

The right of Olena Gundarina to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

© 2019 The University of Leeds and Olena Gundarina

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Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the University of Leeds School of Education International Research Scholarship for funding this research. I would like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors, Dr James Simpson and Dr Lou Harvey, for their wisdom and expertise. They have been encouraging and supportive whenever I sought advice during my doctoral studies. Not only were they constructive in their ideas but inherently kind and understanding. Special mention should be given for their invaluable contribution to five Russian-speaking migrant children – Katerina, Ivan, Yulia, Rita, and Alisa (pseudonyms) – who let me into their worlds, and their parents, teachers, and schools, who kindly allowed me to conduct the study with them, and without whom this study would have not been possible. The three schools in London, their teachers, and the leadership staff have been incredibly helpful during my research. It is difficult to express the depth of my appreciation to my husband, Richard, for his support, and my parents-in-law, Mary and Paul, for their blessings, warmth, and encouragement. My parents, Natalia and Vladimir: although you cannot speak English, and so will need this translated, I thank you for everything you have done for me; I owe to you everything I am today.

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Dedication To Dina and Viktor Gundarin, my dearest grandparents, whom I never met

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Abstract This thesis explores the experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English state-funded primary schools at Key Stage 2 (7-11 years old). Research related to Russian-speaking migrant children has been conducted abroad but to date there is no known study of this in English primary schools. While addressing this gap, this thesis also addresses the dearth of research into personality development, which is underexplored in L2 (Second Language) migration, middle childhood, and the educational context of L2 schools. The methodology comprises a qualitative longitudinal ethnographically informed multiple case study research approach with five embedded cases. The evidence is based on 79 interviews with creative techniques and seven months of participant observations. By employing McAdams’ personality development theory in a migration context, personality development was found to be inseparable from children’s L2 schooling experiences. The findings revealed that often Russian-speaking migrant pupils felt excluded, isolated, and unable to achieve or show achievement (i.e. fulfil their need to be/feel ‘smart’) in their L2 schools. These feelings were intensified when their L1 (First Language) was limited or forbidden. The experiences impacted, directly or indirectly, on children’s motivations and social relations, i.e. on their personality development. Namely, (1) migrant pupils preferred more accessible subjects (mathematics, art), as opposed to English; (2) pupils’ lack of knowledge gain, rather than lack of interest, caused their low learning engagement in academic subjects; and (3) pupils exhibited silence (quietness, submissiveness, or reticence) in class but not outside of class, which was an adopted pattern of behaviour rather than ‘silent period’. The thesis furthers an understanding of Russian-speaking migrant pupils’ place and voices, which can be extended to other linguistic minority groups in the diverse cultural realities of UK and other European classrooms. Pedagogical recommendations for EAL (English as an Additional Language) specialists and policymakers are discussed.

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Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... III DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ XIV LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. XVII SETTING THE SCENE ................................................................................. 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5

1.6

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE ......................................................................... 1 RESEARCH AIMS AND OVERVIEW OF THE DESIGN ............................................... 4 MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH ...................................................................... 5 KEY TERMINOLOGY............................................................................................ 5 Russian-speaking migrant and EAL ......................................................... 5 Personality and its development ............................................................... 7 Middle childhood ...................................................................................... 8 EAL IMMERSION CONTEXT ................................................................................ 9

1.7

Immersion in L2 schools ......................................................................... 10 EAL policy development ........................................................................ 11 Current implications: L1 and EAL provision ......................................... 13 THESIS STRUCTURE .......................................................................................... 18 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 21

2.1 2.2

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 21 RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MIGRANT PUPILS IN THE UK ............................................. 21 Research into Russian-speaking migrant pupils ..................................... 21 Why Russian-speaking migrant pupils merit attention ........................... 23 Experiences of migrant pupils................................................................. 24

2.3

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF MIGRANT PUPILS ........................................... 29 How does personality develop? .............................................................. 29 Middle childhood, migration, and L2 studies: identifying a gap ............ 31 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 34

2.4

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 36

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3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4

3.6

TOWARDS THEORISING EXPERIENCES AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT......... 36 LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY ................................................... 36 DAN MCADAMS’ PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT THEORY ................................. 39 THE MOTIVATED AGENT LINE ........................................................................... 41 Paucity of studies: middle childhood and immersion context ................ 41 LL motivation theories ............................................................................ 42 Further developments: a multilingual turn in LL motivation.................. 45 THE SOCIAL ACTOR LINE .................................................................................. 47 Social behaviour ...................................................................................... 47 Social relationships ................................................................................. 50 A NOTE ON THE AUTHORSHIP LINE ................................................................... 53

3.7

SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 53

3.5

METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 55 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6

4.7

4.8

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 55 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................................... 55 PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNING ....................................................................... 56 RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN .............................................................................. 57 RESEARCH TRADITION ...................................................................................... 58 RESEARCH APPROACH ...................................................................................... 58 Multiple case study ................................................................................. 58 Longitudinal research .............................................................................. 60 Ethnographic dimension.......................................................................... 60 THE RESEARCH SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS .................................................... 61 The research setting................................................................................. 61 The case selection ................................................................................... 62 Recruitment process ................................................................................ 63 Case information ..................................................................................... 63 DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................... 64 Data collection methods .......................................................................... 64 Participant observations .......................................................................... 65 Interviews ................................................................................................ 66 4.8.3.1 4.8.3.2

Interviews with parents and teachers .................................................. 67 Interviews with children ...................................................................... 68 Creative techniques ................................................................................. 71 4.8.4.1 The ‘interview-through-game’ ............................................................ 75 4.8.4.2 The filling-in exercise ‘Today I’ ......................................................... 76 4.8.4.3 Concentric circles with statement ranking .......................................... 76

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4.8.4.4 Drawing ‘My hopes and dreams’ ........................................................ 76 4.9 DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 77 Process of analysis .................................................................................. 78 Stage 1 – Data organisation and anonymisation ..................................... 78 Stage 2 – Coding ..................................................................................... 79 Stage 3 – Overarching themes ................................................................ 81 Stage 4 – Presentation: producing the report .......................................... 81 Stage 5 – Translation of the data ............................................................. 82 Stage 6 – Cross-case analysis.................................................................. 83 Stage 7 – A note on data management during writing up ....................... 84 4.10 TRUSTWORTHINESS AND ETHICS ...................................................................... 85

4.11

The pilot study ........................................................................................ 85 Ethical approach and procedures ............................................................ 87 Trustworthiness strategies ....................................................................... 88 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 89 YULIA ...................................................................................................... 91

5.1 5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 91 EXPERIENCES IN THE L2 SCHOOL ..................................................................... 91 Achievement and learning issues ............................................................ 91 Well-being in the L2 school .................................................................... 92 Learning support and organisation .......................................................... 94 Differentiated tasks and growing stress .................................................. 95 Spelling tests with unknown words ........................................................ 97 MOTIVATIONS IN THE L2 SCHOOL .................................................................... 99 Approval and success .............................................................................. 99 Avoidance in learning ............................................................................. 99 Motivation in English as a subject ........................................................ 101 Parental impact on motivation .............................................................. 103 Dreams and wishes in learning ............................................................. 104 SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND RELATIONSHIPS IN THE L2 SCHOOL......................... 106 Quietness in lessons .............................................................................. 106 Learning-related increased sensitivity and stress .................................. 107 Fear of public use of L2 ........................................................................ 109 Communication and solitude issues ...................................................... 110 A new friend.......................................................................................... 111 A new foe: bullying............................................................................... 113 CASE SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 114

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RITA ...................................................................................................... 116 6.1 6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 116 EXPERIENCES IN THE L2 SCHOOL ................................................................... 117 Initial immersion and progress in the L2 school ................................... 117 Learning support and organisation: support with L2 ............................ 117 Using L1 in learning.............................................................................. 118 L2 learning. Literacy and speaking ....................................................... 119 Learning in mathematics ....................................................................... 121 MOTIVATIONS IN THE L2 SCHOOL .................................................................. 123 Interests and feelings about school and learning................................... 123 Participation in learning ........................................................................ 124 Motivation for joy and communication rather than learning ................ 125 Motivation for marks and praise ........................................................... 126 Approval and acceptance: a need to be ‘smart’ .................................... 127 Dreams and wishes ................................................................................ 127 Interests in and feelings about learning L2 ........................................... 129 Achievement/accomplishment LL motivation ...................................... 130 L3 and L4 motivations .......................................................................... 131 SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND RELATIONSHIPS IN THE L2 SCHOOL ......................... 132 Covert discontent in lessons .................................................................. 132 Quietness ............................................................................................... 133 Anxiety and fear .................................................................................... 134 Characteristic friendship group ............................................................. 134 CASE SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 136 ALISA .................................................................................................... 137

7.1 7.2

7.3

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 137 EXPERIENCES IN THE L2 SCHOOL ................................................................... 137 Learning support, organisation, and academic demands ...................... 137 L2 experiences and progress ................................................................. 139 Mathematics experiences ...................................................................... 142 MOTIVATIONS IN THE L2 SCHOOL .................................................................. 144 Interests and feelings about learning ..................................................... 144 Engagement ........................................................................................... 145 Rewards, praise, and approval .............................................................. 146 LL motivations ...................................................................................... 147 Parental impact on motivations ............................................................. 150 Dreams and wishes ................................................................................ 151

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7.4

7.5

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND RELATIONSHIPS IN THE L2 SCHOOL ........................ 154 Submissiveness and quietness in school ............................................... 154 Sensitivity about criticism and making mistakes .................................. 157 Alisa and Cathy’s friendship. Bullying ................................................. 158 CASE SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 159 KATERINA ............................................................................................. 161

8.1 8.2

8.3

8.4

8.5

INTRODUCTION ............