Inclusion of multilingual students—teachers’ perceptions on language support models

Abstract

Inclusion of multilingual students—teachers’ perceptions on language support models Ensuring the best possible support for multilingual students is a challenge for educational systems the world over. In Austria, new language support models, the so-called German language support classes (GLSC) and pull-out courses (POC), have been installed in the school year 2018/19. The new models offer language support in separate classrooms and have been strongly criticised since their implementation due to their segregative and assimilative character. This study aims to examine teachers’ perceptions of language support models for multilingual students in Austria. For this purpose, a large-scale quantitative survey including 1,267 in-service teachers (mean age = 43.40) from eight of nine states in Austria was conducted. Results indicate that teachers perceive a segregated language learning setting more negative for the academic, social and emotional development of students compared to an inclusive one. Furthermore, they also experience that more resources are needed to adequately implement an inclusive learning environment for multilingual students.