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In this presentation, the concept translanguaging space (Li, 2011, Zhu et al, 2017) is used to study classroom interaction in a Mother Tongue Tuition (MTT) classroom in Arabic. The case of Arabic here makes translanguaging space relevant for the study of classroom interaction in relation to the diglossic situation between MSA and varieties of Arabic. The aim with the article is to study classroom interaction in MTT Arabic as a translanguaging space. The study is part of a larger project on Mother Tongue Tuition in Sweden which is carried out in the form of action research combined with linguistic ethnography. Material used is from one teacher and students in grade three and consists of fieldnotes, audio recordings from classroom observations in MTT Arabic and one teacher interview. The use of translanguaging space, as both an arena for translanguaging and a space created through translanguaging (Li, 2011) makes visible the seamless shuttling between varieties, which is natural and necessary in Arabic language classrooms. The diglossic situation in Arabic means that while all students need to learn MSA, the challenges are greater for students with varieties that diverge more from the teacher’s. In this case the teacher’s Levantine dialect was closer to that of some of the students, while other dialects diverged more. The critical and creative aspects inherent in translanguaging space put issues of student engagement and participation in focus. In this case, the teacher was in the center and students were rather passive, answering questions and performing given tasks. Although the dominance of MSA and Levantine may be interpreted as a monolingual classroom policy, the fact that both Swedish and other dialects were accepted shows that the diglossic situation opened up the classroom as a translanguaging space.

he Declaration of a Nordic Language Policy stipulates that all Nordic residents have the right to preserve and develop their mother tongue and their national minority languages. Hence, this article investigates the question of mother tongue education for linguistic minority students. Through four ‘telling cases’, the article explores how four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, orient towards mother tongues, Indigenous and national minority languages in their educational policies. Drawing on Ruíz’ (1984) framework of orientations in language planning, we investigate the following question: In what ways are mother tongues framed as rights, resources, or problems in four telling cases of educational policy in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden? The analysis of the telling cases shows that although all four countries provide various forms of mother tongue education, thus apparently aligning with the intentions in the Declaration of a Nordic Language Policy, there are important differences between the provisions. Nevertheless, across the four countries, the official national languages are placed at the top of a language ideological hierarchy. The official national languages are followed by national minority languages as mother tongues. These languages are awarded rights but are not considered resources for the whole population (e.g., Ruíz, 1984). The Danish telling case inserts a supranational layer in the hierarchy, namely mother tongues with status as official languages in the European Union. The hierarchy of mother tongues thus reflects how some types of mother tongues are more readily granted rights and considered to be resources than others.

I denna artikel står en skolledare från ett specifikt svenskt utbildningssammanhang i fokus. Skolledaren är biträdande rektor för en kommunal modersmålsenhet och ansvarar för en verksamhet där personalgruppen består av modersmålslärare och studiehandledare. Syftet med artikeln är att undersöka detta specifika ledaruppdrag i ett mångfalds- och hållbarhetsperspektiv med särskilt fokus på social och kulturell hållbarhet. Syftet nås genom en fallstudie som med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys studerar en skolledares beskrivningar av sitt ledaruppdrag vid två tillfällen under en tvåårsperiod. Hållbart ledarskap studeras utifrån flera moraliska principer och resultaten visar att den aktuella ledarens uppdrag i viss mån kan definieras som hållbart, men att det även finns flera faktorer som kan åtgärdas för att det aktuella ledaruppdraget ska bli mer hållbart.

Föreliggande rapport är ett resultat av det samverkansprojekt som Interkulturellt Utvecklingscentrum Dalarna, IKUD, vid Högskolan Dalarna tillsammans med Ludvika Kommun, finansierat av Länsstyrelsen i Dalarnas län, startade under senhösten 2020 för att skapa kunskap om etableringsprogrammet Samhällsorientering för nyanlända med olika språkbakgrund under förändrade villkor som digitaliseringen medförde under pandemiåret 2021. Syftet med projektet har varit att bidra med en forskningsöversikt om digital lärmiljö utifrån best practice-erfarenheter från nationell och internationell forskning och att, utifrån en fallstudie om SO (situationen i Ludvika), resonera kring praktiker i digitala lärmiljöer. Fokus ligger på interaktion i en digital lärmiljö. Interkulturella förhållningssätt är också ett centralt tema. Ytterligare en viktig aspekt som undersöks är hur bilden av Sverige och den nyanlända skapas och uttrycks i klassrumsinteraktionen utifrån SO-läromedlet (boken Om Sverige). Utifrån syftet med projektet presenteras i rapporten (1) en kort forskningsöversikt om digital lärmiljö baserad på nationell och internationell forskning, (2) reflektioner utifrån observationer i en digital undervisningsmiljö i Ludvika kommun i samband med samhällsorienteringen, samt (3) en analys av undervisningsmaterialet som användes på de observerade lektionerna.

This article explores the professional role of teachers of Swedish as a second language (SSL). The study is based on interviews with highly qualified SSL teachers to examine their perspectives regarding their professional identity; the opportunities, if any, that exist for them to have agency; and the changes they believe would lead to them having a stronger voice. Findings demonstrate that their everyday reality as teachers makes their role in education difficult. One contributing factor is that principals and teachers of other subjects lack sufficient knowledge about second language students (L2 students), which makes it unrealistic to assume SSL teachers can lead the type of school development and organisational change that they require to establish a voice in their role. To strengthen their profession, SSL teachers require a new type of role, one in which they not only are experts in the field of L2-student learning and educational needs but are also trained in issues of leadership.