Constructing Inequality in Multilingual Classrooms

This volume reports on an ethnographic study of four multilingual and multicultural secondary schools with students of foreign origin in Madrid, Spain, that was conducted in order to explore how inequality (or social stratification) is constructed in the classroom through linguistic practices in teacher-student and student-student relations. The study examines how legitimate knowledge is defined in classroom interactions; what counts as good (interactional and educational) behavior in the classroom; what is considered the legitimate language for instruction and learning; the role of student ethnicity in school lessons; and forms of student resistance to social stratification. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This series contributes to the development of new approaches in the sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological study of social issues and social problems. The series contains critical analyses of language and power in social processes and highlights substantive, theoretical, and methodological dimensions of sociolinguistic research. It will be of use in both undergraduate and graduate teaching. Series Editors: Professor Richard J. Watts, University of Berne

In this book, the reader is taken on a fascinating journey through some of Madrid's multilingual and multicultural schools, revealing the role of linguistic practices in constructing inequality and educational failure. The exciting discussion of these issues is particularly important in a globalized world where, on a daily basis, children enter multilingual and multicultural schools in which they face unknown educational practices and languages.

"This brilliant and important book is a must for anybody who wants to understand how inequality is constructed by the school system. It is a timely and courageous wake-up call; a powerful indictment of monolingualizing tendencies in education and society." (Jean-Jacques Weber, University of Luxembourg)