GroverAukrust2009
| GroverAukrust2009 | |
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| BibType | ARTICLE |
| Key | GroverAukrust2009 |
| Author(s) | Vibeke Grøver Aukrust, Veslemøy Rydland |
| Title | “Does It Matter?” Talking about Ethnic Diversity in Preschool and First Grade Classrooms |
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| Tag(s) | EMCA, ethnicity talk, preschool interaction, multiethnic classrooms, conflict talk, ambiguous talk |
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| Year | 2009 |
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| Journal | Journal of Pragmatics |
| Volume | 41 |
| Number | 8 |
| Pages | 1538–1556 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.pragma.2007.03.009 |
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Abstract
This paper reports on a study in which talk about ethnic diversity in preschool and first grade multiethnic classrooms was observed. Specifically we examine the interactional contexts in which ethnicity talk transpired and how such talk was handled in preschool and school settings. The analysis is based on videotaped talk in teacher-led circle-time gatherings, mealtime conversations and peer play which took place in various classrooms in two of Norway’s larger cities. All classrooms included at least one target child who spoke Turkish at home. Ethnic diversity as a topic was almost exclusively introduced by the children, and was topicalized in situations of building and demonstrating alliances, of conflict and competition, and to escalate opposition when disputes had already surfaced. Moreover, ethnic diversity was often addressed in ambiguous and multilayered ways, with talk having a factual as well as humorous dimension. Children demonstrated a subtle sensitivity to ethnicity as something delicate and sometimes difficult. Although ethnicity often transpired under relatively charged conditions, children seemed to make it relevant to the particular situations and they explored topics of differences between themselves in a relatively straightforward manner.
Notes
