Papaioannou, Vasiliki I. (2008) Teachers’ experiences in a UK international school : the challenges of adaptation. Other thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_THESIS_Papaioannou_2008.pdf - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (6Mb)

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This research is a qualitative case study which explores teachers’ past and present
experiences and beliefs in a multilingual, UK International School: ‘Dombey
School’. This school employs teachers from eight nationalities and enrols students
from more. Two research questions guided this study: In what ways (if any) are
teachers’ experiences in such a multilingual school distinctive? Is there any evidence
that the multilingual – multicultural identity of such a school offers particular
advantages or disadvantages to teachers in terms of work or professional
development?
Semi-structured interviews with forty-seven secondary cycle teachers shed light on
their educational and teaching backgrounds and explore their experiences in a school
dedicated to the promotion of multilingual and multicultural education. Fieldnotes,
memos, classroom observation and documents were also used as data in the study.
This research explores teachers’ cultural differences and their impact on teachers’
work, relationships and adaptation to the school. It also highlights some of the
professional challenges faced by teachers in a culturally diverse context which draws
them towards linguistic and cultural ghettoes. Teachers’ behaviours in the school are
explained in terms of Hofstede’s four dimensional model (1986) and the analysis
also draws on other work by Hofstede as well as that of Triandis. My findings
discuss teachers’ values and attitudes in the school taking into account the
individuality and the particular characteristics of the existent school culture.
This thesis points to the need for cross-cultural teacher training programmes and an
induction phase in schools of this sort in order to help teachers acquire skills which
will help them respect and appreciate cultural differences, prepare them to teach in a
school of cultural and linguistic diversity and lead to their successful integration into
the school culture. The conclusion highlights the neglect of teachers’ needs
compared to the importance given to students in this type of education.

Item Type:	Thesis (Other)
Subjects:	L Education > LC Special aspects of education
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Dombey School (Great Britain), International schools -- Great Britain, Multicultural education -- Case studies
Official Date:	July 2008
Dates:	Date Event July 2008 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for Applied Linguistics
Thesis Type:	Other
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Richards, Keith, 1952-
Extent:	x, 245 leaves : ill.
Language:	eng

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads