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Author
Duarte, J.
Title
Migrants‘ educational   success through innovation: The case of the Hamburg bilingual schools.
Language
English
Date2011
Full references
Duarte, J. (2011). Migrants‘   educational success through innovation: The case of the Hamburg bilingual   schools, International Review of   Education 57 (5): 631-649.
Abstract
Although Germany has experienced net   in-migration for the past five decades, this fact has only recently been officially acknowledged. Furthermore, Germany is marked by a general   monolingual self-concept very much attached to the idea of a nation-state   with one homogeneous language. However, in large urban areas of Germany about   35 per cent of the population has a migration background, as has almost every   second child enrolling in primary school. Hence the country is marked by this   dichotomy between a monolingual policy discourse and a multilingual society,   manifested in everyday life and, as a consequence, in educational institutions. The fact is that this political attitude towards Germany’s own   migration history and migrants has led to an educational gap between students   with a migration background and their monolingual peers. In 2000, a project   was started in Hamburg, aiming to overcome this educational gap and involving   the creation of bilingual schools for some of the largest migrant languages.   Bilingual classes were thus set up for the following language combinations:   German-Portuguese, German-Italian, German-Spanish and German-Turkish, and   were evaluated by the University of Hamburg. This paper reports on the model   used and the specific school outcomes of the students attending these classes.
Key words
Germany, Immigration, Hamburg, Bilingual primary   schools, Dual language   enrichment models, Comparative evaluation, Academic language   proficiency, Didactic factors.
Other interesting information
Although set in a different   context (elementary schools), the article is interesting as it shows that   students attending bilingual schools enhance multicultural competencies;   thus, it might be helpful to engage in teaching practices that involve both   ‘’natives’’ and ‘’immigrants’’ as it creates a bridge between cultures.
Interest for the project
4/5
Contributor´s name + email
Stéphanie Barillé -   stephanie@unak.is
Co-funded by The Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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