The Experiences and Personality Development of Russian-Speaking Migrant Pupils in English Primary Schools
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The experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English primary schools Olena Gundarina Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Education June 2019 ii The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. The right of Olena Gundarina to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2019 The University of Leeds and Olena Gundarina iii Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the University of Leeds School of Education International Research Scholarship for funding this research. I would like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors, Dr James Simpson and Dr Lou Harvey, for their wisdom and expertise. They have been encouraging and supportive whenever I sought advice during my doctoral studies. Not only were they constructive in their ideas but inherently kind and understanding. Special mention should be given for their invaluable contribution to five Russian-speaking migrant children – Katerina, Ivan, Yulia, Rita, and Alisa (pseudonyms) – who let me into their worlds, and their parents, teachers, and schools, who kindly allowed me to conduct the study with them, and without whom this study would have not been possible. The three schools in London, their teachers, and the leadership staff have been incredibly helpful during my research. It is difficult to express the depth of my appreciation to my husband, Richard, for his support, and my parents-in-law, Mary and Paul, for their blessings, warmth, and encouragement. My parents, Natalia and Vladimir: although you cannot speak English, and so will need this translated, I thank you for everything you have done for me; I owe to you everything I am today. iv Dedication To Dina and Viktor Gundarin, my dearest grandparents, whom I never met v Abstract This thesis explores the experiences and personality development of Russian-speaking migrant pupils in English state-funded primary schools at Key Stage 2 (7-11 years old). Research related to Russian-speaking migrant children has been conducted abroad but to date there is no known study of this in English primary schools. While addressing this gap, this thesis also addresses the dearth of research into personality development, which is underexplored in L2 (Second Language) migration, middle childhood, and the educational context of L2 schools. The methodology comprises a qualitative longitudinal ethnographically informed multiple case study research approach with five embedded cases. The evidence is based on 79 interviews with creative techniques and seven months of participant observations. By employing McAdams’ personality development theory in a migration context, personality development was found to be inseparable from children’s L2 schooling experiences. The findings revealed that often Russian-speaking migrant pupils felt excluded, isolated, and unable to achieve or show achievement (i.e. fulfil their need to be/feel ‘smart’) in their L2 schools. These feelings were intensified when their L1 (First Language) was limited or forbidden. The experiences impacted, directly or indirectly, on children’s motivations and social relations, i.e. on their personality development. Namely, (1) migrant pupils preferred more accessible subjects (mathematics, art), as opposed to English; (2) pupils’ lack of knowledge gain, rather than lack of interest, caused their low learning engagement in academic subjects; and (3) pupils exhibited silence (quietness, submissiveness, or reticence) in class but not outside of class, which was an adopted pattern of behaviour rather than ‘silent period’. The thesis furthers an understanding of Russian-speaking migrant pupils’ place and voices, which can be extended to other linguistic minority groups in the diverse cultural realities of UK and other European classrooms. Pedagogical recommendations for EAL (English as an Additional Language) specialists and policymakers are discussed. vi Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... III DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... V TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ XIV LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. XVII SETTING THE SCENE ................................................................................. 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE ......................................................................... 1 1.3 RESEARCH AIMS AND OVERVIEW OF THE DESIGN ............................................... 4 1.4 MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH ...................................................................... 5 1.5 KEY TERMINOLOGY............................................................................................ 5 Russian-speaking migrant and EAL ......................................................... 5 Personality and its development ............................................................... 7 Middle childhood ...................................................................................... 8 1.6 EAL IMMERSION CONTEXT ................................................................................ 9 Immersion in L2 schools ......................................................................... 10 EAL policy development ........................................................................ 11 Current implications: L1 and EAL provision ......................................... 13 1.7 THESIS STRUCTURE .......................................................................................... 18 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 21 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 21 2.2 RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MIGRANT PUPILS IN THE UK ............................................. 21 Research into Russian-speaking migrant pupils ..................................... 21 Why Russian-speaking migrant pupils merit attention ........................... 23 Experiences of migrant pupils ................................................................. 24 2.3 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT OF MIGRANT PUPILS ........................................... 29 How does personality develop? .............................................................. 29 Middle childhood, migration, and L2 studies: identifying a gap ............ 31 2.4 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 34 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 36 vii 3.1 TOWARDS THEORISING EXPERIENCES AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT ......... 36 3.2 LEV VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY ................................................... 36 3.3 DAN MCADAMS’ PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT THEORY ................................. 39 3.4 THE MOTIVATED AGENT LINE ........................................................................... 41 Paucity of studies: middle childhood and immersion context ................ 41 LL motivation theories ............................................................................ 42 Further developments: a multilingual turn in LL motivation.................. 45 3.5 THE SOCIAL ACTOR LINE .................................................................................. 47 Social behaviour ...................................................................................... 47 Social relationships ................................................................................. 50 3.6 A NOTE ON THE AUTHORSHIP LINE ................................................................... 53 3.7 SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ 53 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 55 4.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 55 4.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ..................................................................................... 55 4.3 PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNING ....................................................................... 56 4.4 RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN .............................................................................. 57 4.5 RESEARCH TRADITION ...................................................................................... 58