The overarching aim of this quasi-experimental study was to examine if a US-established professional development intervention, known as the Enduring Principles of Learning (EPL), can influence teaching practice and subsequently improve primary-aged multilingual learners' English proficiency in England. The EPL uses socio-cultural enquiry-based pedagogical approaches (Vygotsky, 1978) through which teachers engage intentionally with student-led classroom dialogue (Alexander, 2020). Whilst this is the first time the EPL is being investigated within the UK context, previous studies elsewhere have demonstrated the positive impact EPL can have on multilingual learners' attainment when teachers receive targeted cycles of professional development (Teemant, 2014; Teemant & Sherman, 2022).
This study aimed to evaluate whether the EPL intervention improved language and literacy outcomes for 80 Year 1 pupils (aged 5-6) and 75 Year 4 pupils (aged 8-9) across 4 linguistically diverse primary school classrooms in South East England. 89% of participating pupils were considered 'English as an Additional Language' (EAL) learners, who together, have exposure to over 20 languages.
Teachers of 4 classes in the experimental schools (n = 85) received professional development in the EPL, while teachers of 4 classes in the control school (n = 70) conducted business as usual. Bespoke pre- and post-tests, measuring pupils' English proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, writing, based on World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) materials were developed for the study. These were complemented by the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (Dunn et al., 1997) to provide an indicative measure of pupils' English vocabulary. Pre- and post-tests were administered to experimental and control pupils in December 2021 and June 2022.
At pre-test Year 4 pupils had broadly similar starting points across all tests, while in Year 1 there were significant differences between control and experimental pupils for listening. Monolingual Year 1 pupils also had higher levels of vocabulary than did multilinguals. This presentation will outline findings from a mixed ANCOVA to explore whether the greater pre-post test improvement anticipated for the experimental group did occur, controlling for vocabulary scores.
The implications of the study for classroom practice, teacher-friendly multilingual learner test design and theoretical considerations of the role of the teacher in multilingual pedagogy will be considered. They will also be discussed against a backdrop of pertinent contextual factors. These include covid-induced disruptions of pupils' schooling experiences, as well as the diverse nature of participants featured in this study.
References:
Alexander, R. (2020). A dialogic teaching companion. Routledge.
Dunn, L., Dunn, D., Whetton, C., & Burley, J. (1997). The British Picture Vocabulary Scale (2nd ed.). NFER-Nelson.
Teemant, A. (2014). A mixed-methods investigation of instructional coaching for teachers of diverse learners. Urban Education, 49(5), 574–604. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085913481362
Teemant, A., & Sherman, B. J. (2022). Coaching content teachers toward pedagogical equity for multilingual students. European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 11(1), 169–187. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27259.39207
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (eds.)). Harvard University Press.
