ABSTRACT

In Britain, ‘super-diverse’ communities, where children navigate multiple cultural repertoires, are increasingly prevalent. However, Reception teachers are pressured to ensure children, aged four and five, conform to a narrow conception of ‘school-readiness’. Research demonstrates children in multicultural contexts construct a ‘third space’, bridging their home and school discourses. This research shows how opportunities for third space creation are inherently tied to the nature of physical space, and its concomitant social expectations. It is argued that complexity in super-diverse communities can be harnessed and embraced, rather than reduced. Data presented were drawn from a year-long collaborative ethnographic study of children in a Reception class in the north of England. Children co-created cartoons, collaborating with the researcher in interpreting the data. Significantly, findings indicate that teachers can incorporate the third space as an alternative lens through which to understand and meet the challenges of teaching a linguistically and culturally diverse student cohort.

摘要

在英国，“超级多元化”社区越来越普遍，孩子们可以在其中体验多种文化。然而，接待老师面临着确保四岁和五岁儿童符合“入学准备”的狭隘概念的压力。研究表明，多元文化背景下的儿童会构建“第三空间”，连接家庭和学校的话语。这项研究表明，第三空间的创造机会如何与物理空间的性质及其伴随的社会期望有着内在的联系。有人认为，超级多元化社区的复杂性可以被利用和接受，而不是减少。所提供的数据来自对英格兰北部接待班儿童进行的为期一年的合作民族志研究。孩子们共同创作动画片，与研究人员合作解释数据。值得注意的是，研究结果表明，教师可以将第三空间作为另一种视角，通过它来理解和应对教学语言和文化多样化的学生群体所面临的挑战。