Integrated Knowledge Translation of Effective Educational Practices with Emerging Bilingual and Multilingual Children
Creators: Demers, Catrine
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2020

<p>SSHRC IG awarded 2021. There is an increase of Canadians speaking a language at home other than French or English, resulting in an increase of linguistic and cultural diversity in schools. Unfortunately, many mainstream elementary teachers lack knowledge to effectively teach these emerging bilingual and multilingual children. Without this effective teaching, a significant difference has been observed between the reading performance of students that are not speaking English or French at home and the performance of children who have sufficient knowledge of the language of the school. </p>

<p>The two main goals of this research are: (1) to identify and apply solutions to improve the effectiveness of teaching practices of emerging bilingual and multilingual children in kindergarten and grade 1 by collaborating with stakeholders through the Knowledge-to-Action (KTA) Framework and an integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approach; (2) to gain knowledge on the use of the KTA Framework and an iKT approach in education with a research team comprised of stakeholders in multiple settings. The research team will use a knowledge mobilization model, specifically KTA Framework, to guide the implementation of solutions. In addition to the current researchers, i.e., the principal investigator (Demers) and the co-applicant (MacLeod), the research team will include university professors in the Faculty of Education, university students enrolled in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education, primary school principals, and kindergarten and grade 1 mainstream teachers. This research team will use this KTA Framework within an approach of an iKT. More specifically, they will collaboratively decide on actions to put in place at every phase of the research to address the main issue of lack of teacher knowledge on effective practices with emerging bilinguals and multilinguals. There were also be a Ph.D. student, a master student, and two bachelor students employed in this proposed study. In the end, the research team and additional employed students will decide and complete knowledge mobilization activities to mobilize knowledge on: (1) the results from the completion and application of the KTA Framework in practice using an iKT approach; and (2) the approach and process itself of the KTA Framework with an iKT approach in education. This knowledge mobilization plan includes activities targeting policy-makers, decision-makers, researchers, practitioners, community groups, and the general public including families. </p>

<p>This proposed research will advance knowledge and impact four main areas from a local to a broader scale: (1) improvement of attitudes, knowledge and use of the research team of the effective teaching practices, the KTA Framework and the iKT approach, to support and increase performance of linguistically diverse children in the local setting; (2) providing tools and examples through the KTA Framework and the iKT approach that can be used in other teacher training programs or school boards to support the implementation of effective practices; (3) contribution to the research knowledge of implementation science by providing strengths and challenges of working with the KTA Framework and the iKT approach; and (4) informing other practitioners, researchers, stakeholders and broader society on practice and theory of effective practices with emerging bilingual and multilingual children and of the KTA Framework and iKT approach for similar or different problems in different disciplines in research and in practice. </p>