Higher sem. Biling. Ganuza, Nikolaidou, Rydell: Structural constraints and agentive responses
Seminar
Date: Tuesday 18 February 2025
Time: 15.00 – 16.30
Location: Room D480
Higher seminar in Bilingualism. Structural constraints and agentive responses: Comparing two systems of Greek heritage language education in Sweden. Natalia Ganuza, Uppsala University, Department of Scandinavian Languages; Zoe Nikolaidou, Södetörn University, Department of Culture and Education; Maria Rydell, Stockholm Universit, Department of Swedish and Multilingualism.
In the presentation, we will give an overview of an ongoing project on Greek heritage language education in Sweden. Greek has been taught as a heritage language in Sweden since the 1960’s. Here, we compare the teaching of Greek language and culture through a) mother tongue instruction (MTI), an elective school subject in the national curriculum, and b) the teaching of Greek in a complementary school, organized by a parental association. Sweden offers a unique opportunity to study and compare these two distinct forms of organizing heritage language education within one national context.
In our first study, we have investigated similarities and differences between the two settings, and the key actors’ agentive responses to the distinctive structural and cultural enablements and constraints of each setting. The findings show how the two educational settings have different legal statuses and are governed at different policy levels (national vs. transnational), but share many constraints at the level of praxis. We also discuss the interconnectedness between the two settings and how they both contribute to the maintenance and development of heritage language education in Sweden.
Our second on-going study is based on a case study from the Greek complementary school, focusing on recent turbulent changes that have affected the school’s operation. For many years, the school had access, free of charge, to the premises of a mainstream school. At the start of our project, however, the school’s contract was unexpectedly terminated. After a brief period at a nearby school, followed by a few months of online teaching, the school’s parental board was able to find new premises, but now must pay rent. Here, we will critically examine the causes and ongoing consequences of these significant changes, as well as the agentive responses that they have generated. We will discuss the observed turbulence in light of recent political developments in Sweden that more broadly affect heritage language education, highlighting aspects of the complementary school’s vulnerability and viability.
Methodologically, the project uses linguistic ethnographic data collected over more than two years in both educational settings, including interviews with key actors (board members, teachers, parents and students), observations of meetings and lessons, teaching materials, e-mail correspondences and relevant national and transnational policy documents. The data is analysed using a combination of thematic and discourse analysis.
Theoretically, the project is anchored in Margaret Archer’s Morphogenetic Approach (e.g. 1995), which views structure, culture, and agency as separate but interrelated layers of social reality that each have their distinct properties and causal powers. In the case study, structure and agency are also discussed in relation to educational governance theory, particularly with respect to bottom-up and top-down approaches to governance (e.g. Thorpe & Karamanidou 2024).
Last updated: January 22, 2025
Source: Centre for Research on Bilingualism