Faculty of Education - Theses

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Author: Srinivasan, Prasanna × End date: 2008 × Start date: 2008 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Education, Bilingual × Subject: Language and languages ×

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    The inclusion of linguistic diversity in early childhood settings
    Srinivasan, Prasanna ( 2008)
    I begin this study by drawing upon theories of language development during early childhood (Goddard, 1974; Foss & Hakes, 1978; Raban & Ure, 2000; Clarke, 2005a; Fleer & Raban, 2005) and those theories that link language to one's cultural identity (Kramsch, 1998; Hinton, 2001). Australia had historically been a land of many languages (Pearson, 2005 cited in Van Tiggelen, 2005) and colonisation with the emphasis on monolingual discourse has taken away many of the 250 languages of Indigenous peoples (Nicholls, 2001; Clyne, 2005). The death of their language can be seen as the death of their culture and identity (Crystal, 1997). Although Australia's linguistic diversity is increasing with more than 248 languages currently being spoken (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2000 cited in Fleer & Raban, 2005), indigenous languages have been reduced to 48 languages and more are becoming extinct at the rate one every two years (Van Tiggelen, 2005). Yet, Australia's early childhood settings seem to be impoverished in reflecting the linguistic diversity present in our wider society (Makin et al., 1999 cited in Arthur, 2001; Lo Bianco & Freebody, 2001 cited in Fleer & Raban, 2005). Set within an interpretive paradigm, initially, my linear analysis aims to explore the understandings of early childhood practitioners in providing programs that reflected and included linguistic diversity. Then with the introduction of Postcolonial theoretical framework (Orientalism - Said, 1978; Critical whiteness theory, 1998) I begin to challenge the political language of 'Othering', 'Normalising' and 'Naturalising' to uncover the covert assertion of Colonial linguistic dominance. Moreover, by using Critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1995 cited in Locke, 2004) the paradigmatic shift, from interpretive to cultural studies becomes pivotal to my study, as I establish links between political discourse and discourses of individuals. Finally, by comparing the two types of analyses, I bring forth the relevance of using Postcolonial theories to unmask those socio-political discourses that aim to extinguish histories of Australia through the imposition of Colonial identity in the name of 'Nationalism' and 'National language'. Thus I challenge the invisible dominance of one language over languages, with an aim to create newer possibilities for a linguistically equitable Australia.