Kimmelmann N (2020)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Conference contribution, Abstract of lecture
Publication year: 2020
Event location: Glasgow
URI: https://vetnetsite.org/procpub/vetnet-ecer-proceedings-vol-iii-glasgow-uk-2020/
Most European countries are confronted with a new dimension of international migration, forced by war, misery and missing perspectives, especially for young people. The European VET systems play an important role for these (former) refugees with respect to their long term professional perspective and social integration (de Petris, 2018). Especially the lack of language proficiency in the national language is an critical educational disadvantage of these learners, as it inhibits socialization, relationship building and sense of belonging and increases risk of discrimination (UNESCO, 2018, 22). This makes it necessary to establish concepts of integrated language promotion within the national VET systems. Due to high diversity within this target group and complex linguistic needs in the vocational system, continuous individual approaches, such as mentoring, become relevant (Kimmelmann & Peitz, 2018).
The paper connects to these issues as it summarizes results from a research project, financed by the Zeit Foundation, that supports young refugees, during their apprenticeships in the German dual system, by a one-to-one mentoring program over a period of 2 years. Vocational teacher students are qualified for their role as mentors within a modular course system at our Department Business Education.
The presentation focus on the second University course, named “Language-sensitive mentoring. It deals with student teachers` own language awareness (comp. Andrews 2008) as well as competences for an explicit integrated language promotion of their mentees within the mentoring contexts. The course content connects to theoretical and practical approaches of content and language integrated learning (comp. Coyle, Hood & Marsh 2010) with specification and adjustments towards second language learners and circumstances of weekly mentoring session of about 1-2 hours. Afterwards, student teachers should be able to recognize and address language problems of their mentees, within the mentoring setting but also with respect to language demands in vocational schools and companies.
In the here described German context the underlying concept is named as “language-sensitive content teaching” or “integrated content and language learning”, addressing vocational learning settings of learners with German as a second language (comp. e.g. Eberhardt & Brand 2019; Kimmelmann, 2017).
Research questions:
The connected research questions with this course are:
1. How needs a University course to be designed in order to prepare vocational teacher students for a language-sensitive mentoring with young (former) refugees, who are apprentices in the dual system?
2. How does the University course change or influence the self-awareness and competences of the teacher students in their role as mentors?
Objectives
The objectives of the research project are different with respect to the two research questions:
1. The project aims to identify didactical aspects (What? Why? By whom? Where? Which methods? …) that are critical for a successful preparation for a language sensitive mentoring, as described. For that purpose the subjective perspective of the mentors with respect to the didactical design are collected as well as own experiences reflected by the team teachers of the course.
2. The project aims to collect data about the experiences and competence development processes of the mentors, when implementing course content into their real mentoring setting.
Methodology
The project is based on the research approach of Design Based Research (Euler, 2014), combining design/re-design of an intervention (here the course „Language-sensitive mentoring“) with empirical evaluation on the formative and summative level in a circular way to promote theoretical results, especially design principles (Euler, 2017)). The presentation will summarize the results for both research questions in a very comprehensive way to address empirical based design principles for similar interventions as well as scientific data demonstrating experiences made within the mentoring program at the level of a summative evaluation.
The results are focusing on the second iteration of the course in summer term 2020, but results of the first iteration in summer term 2019 are integrated and contrasted when relevant.
Design Based Research combines qualitative and quantitative methods in a mixed-method character. Data collection for both research questions/objectives envolves the following concrete methods:
1. Sucessful didactical elements are based on a quantitative questionnaire for student teachers at the end of the course. Additionally, experiences of the course team teachers are collected with retrospective interviews and notes.
2. Experiences of the student teachers within the implementation phase were collected via weekly reflective learning diaries (10 diaries per student). Competence developments are outlined by a compared quantitative self-assessment of the students before and after the course. Additional qualitative questions with respect to their competence development and interconnection between course and mentoring were part of the final evaluation at the end of the course.
Overall the data covers 40 participating teacher students in the two iterations. Data analysis is connected to standardized procedures:
· for qualitative data (MAXQDA, qualitative code analysis after Mayring 2000)
· for quantitative data (SPSS, central statistical figures such as median, variation)
Conclusions/Findings
Practical outcome: In the first instance, the results summarize relevant didactical aspects of a University course in order to professionalize vocational teacher students for a language-sensitive mentoring with young refugees. By this the project contributes to the current discussion of integrated language promotion in vocational education and training (Siemon, Kimmelmann & Ziegler, 2016). Results are not limited to mentoring or a University course setting, but can be seen as impuls for similar interventions to professionalize vocational teaching staff working with refugees, for example.
Theoretical/Empirical outcome: Furthermore, the results demonstrate consequences of such an intervention with respect to the mentoring itself, as well as self-concept and competences brought into the role as a mentor. By this, the results connect to the current discussion about the lack of empirical evidence connected with activities, to professionalize for an integrated content and language learning in vocational educatzion and training (Siemon, Kimmelmann & Ziegler, 2016). As the successful integration of refugees into the VET is an European issue, the presentation also contributes to the European migration and education policy, having in mind the critical role of language for VET and life-long-learning but also the chances of linguistic diversity and multilinguism in Europe.
Andrews, S. J. (2008). Teacher language awareness. New York: Springer International Publishing.
Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). Content and language integrated learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.
De Petris, A. (2018). Refugee Policies in Europe: Solution for an announced emergency. Münster: Peter Lange.
Eberhardt, A., & Brand, R. (2019). Deutsch im Beruf: sprachsensibler Fachunterricht in der beruflichen Bildung. Sprache Im Beruf, 2(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.25162/sprib-2019-0002
Euler, D. (2017). Design principles as bridge between scientific knowledge production and practice design. EDeR - Educational Design Research, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/dx.doi.org/10.15460/eder.1.1.1024
Euler, D. (2014). Design-Research – a paradigm under development. In D. Euler & P. F. E. Sloane (Eds.), Design-Based Research (pp. 15–44). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner.
Kimmelmann, N. & Peitz, N.-M. (2018): Professional German Language Competences – Demands and Strategies of Promotion in Training Preparation Modules. In: Moreno Herrera, Lázaro / Teräs, Marianne; Gougoulakis, Petros: Emergent issues in Vocational Education & Training. Voices from cross-national research. Stockholm, S. 208–235.
Kimmelmann, N. (2017). Integrated content and language learning as a new challenge of vocational training. Experiences from public funded qualification programs in the health care sector in Germany. Revista Española de Educación Comparada. núm. 29 (enero-junio 2017), pp. 76-94.
Siemon, J., Kimmelmann, N. & Ziegler, B. (2016). Sprache in der beruflichen Bildung. Bedeutung, Forschungsstand und Desiderata, Zeitschrift für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik (ZBW), Beiheft 28, S. 7-34.
UNESCO. (2018). EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT SUMMARY 2019. Migration, displacement and education: Building bridges, not walls. Paris. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/gem-report/files/GEMR_2019-GEMR_Summary_ENG-v6.pdf
APA:
Kimmelmann, N. (2020). Language promotion for refugees in VET: How to prepare vocational student teachers for a language-sensitive mentoring with refugees in apprenticeships? Paper presentation at ECER Conference, Glasgow.
MLA:
Kimmelmann, Nicole. "Language promotion for refugees in VET: How to prepare vocational student teachers for a language-sensitive mentoring with refugees in apprenticeships?" Presented at ECER Conference, Glasgow 2020.
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