TY - JOUR
T1 - Speaking distance
T2 - Language, friendship and spaces of belonging in Irish primary schools
AU - McDonnell, Susan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Purpose - This chapter explores the role of language in constructing spaces of belonging in the relational lives of young migrant children in Ireland. In particular, it investigates how friendship is negotiated in linguistically normative school spaces. Methodology/approach - The chapter draws on the findings and analysis of a larger study of Irish childhoods, race and belonging. The research involved qualitative work with 42 children, from migrant and nonmigrant backgrounds. Research was undertaken with classroom groups in two primary schools in a large town in the west of Ireland, and with a small sample of migrant children and their parents in family homes. Arts-based and visual methods were incorporated throughout the data collection process. Findings - Findings from the research indicate intersections between constructions of belonging in linguistic spaces such as the school and possibilities/constraints for children's peer friendships. While 'home' languages and bilingual ability were valued in home contexts, even these spaces were inflected by the 'English-only' exigencies of school and broader societal spaces. Regarding peer friendship, the findings show that proficiency in speaking English was central, both in terms of accessing friendship rituals through 'talk', and, importantly, in terms of narrativizing self as viable school pupil and peer. Originality/value - The significance of this work lies in its examination of the complexity of language as it functions in children's relational lives. As well as being a pragmatic skill in negotiating and maintaining friendship, it identifies language as a marker of belonging that is shaped by and shapes school spaces, and which has implications for children's peer friendships in this context. As such, the study points to a role for schools in engaging with and promoting recognition of children's multilingual resources.
AB - Purpose - This chapter explores the role of language in constructing spaces of belonging in the relational lives of young migrant children in Ireland. In particular, it investigates how friendship is negotiated in linguistically normative school spaces. Methodology/approach - The chapter draws on the findings and analysis of a larger study of Irish childhoods, race and belonging. The research involved qualitative work with 42 children, from migrant and nonmigrant backgrounds. Research was undertaken with classroom groups in two primary schools in a large town in the west of Ireland, and with a small sample of migrant children and their parents in family homes. Arts-based and visual methods were incorporated throughout the data collection process. Findings - Findings from the research indicate intersections between constructions of belonging in linguistic spaces such as the school and possibilities/constraints for children's peer friendships. While 'home' languages and bilingual ability were valued in home contexts, even these spaces were inflected by the 'English-only' exigencies of school and broader societal spaces. Regarding peer friendship, the findings show that proficiency in speaking English was central, both in terms of accessing friendship rituals through 'talk', and, importantly, in terms of narrativizing self as viable school pupil and peer. Originality/value - The significance of this work lies in its examination of the complexity of language as it functions in children's relational lives. As well as being a pragmatic skill in negotiating and maintaining friendship, it identifies language as a marker of belonging that is shaped by and shapes school spaces, and which has implications for children's peer friendships in this context. As such, the study points to a role for schools in engaging with and promoting recognition of children's multilingual resources.
KW - Belonging
KW - Exclusion
KW - Friendship
KW - Language
KW - Migrant children
KW - Space
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006355235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/S1537-466120160000021004
DO - 10.1108/S1537-466120160000021004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85006355235
SN - 1537-4661
VL - 21
SP - 33
EP - 53
JO - Sociological Studies of Children and Youth
JF - Sociological Studies of Children and Youth
ER -