Luxembourg. ECEC Workforce profile

Report (2023)

Researching children’s participation and agency in Luxembourg

Scientific Conference (2023, August 30)

This paper presents the concepts of participation and child agency. According to the United Nations Human rights, children have the right to express their views, and their voices should be considered ... [more ▼]

This paper presents the concepts of participation and child agency. According to the United Nations Human rights, children have the right to express their views, and their voices should be considered. This means for early childhood education (ECE), that children should be perceived as agents who actively participate in the daily life of the institution. Participation contributes to the development of children’s self-esteem, well-being, and self-efficacy (Correia et al., 2019). It is closely tied to agency which is the performative capacity to act with some autonomy and take position in relation to others (Almér, 2017). The theoretical frameworks draw on socio-cultural theories (Vygotsky, 1978) and theories of language socialization (Corsaro, 2018). Several qualitative longitudinal studies have researched participation and children’s agentic behaviour in ECE institutions in Luxembourg. Data is collected after informed consent has been obtained from the participants, but the researchers maintained the children’s assent by ensuring that they felt comfortable during the observations. Our teams investigated children’s participation in language and literacy activities. Mortini (2021) conceptualized language-based agency on a continuum from “participatory” to “controlling”. Children at the participatory end used their entire semiotic repertoire to engage in activities while those at the “controlling end” changed their learning activities. Based on Corsaro (2005) we found that children enacted their agency by creatively reproducing strategies as well as languaging and literacy practices (Kirsch & Mortini, 2021). Given that children’s participation is closely related to their personal development, it is important that educators perceive children as actors in ECE institutions. [less ▲]

Translanguaging in frühkindlichen Bildungseinrichtungen in Luxemburg – mehrsprachiges Handeln von Kindern und Pädagoginnen

in Meier, Jörg; İnci, Dirim; Blaschitz, Verena (Eds.) Handbuch Mehrsprachigkeit (2023)

Dialogescht Liesen: Guide fir Elteren, Erzéier an Erzéierinnen.

Learning material (2023)

Guide pour la lecture dialogique pour parents et professionnels

Learning material (2023)

Educators, parents and children engaging in literacy activities in multiple languages: an exploratory study

in International Journal of Multilingualism (2023)

There is a consensus that home languages are the foundation on which to develop additional languages and that collaboration between homes and institutions of early childhood education and care (ECEC) can ... [more ▼]

There is a consensus that home languages are the foundation on which to develop additional languages and that collaboration between homes and institutions of early childhood education and care (ECEC) can contribute to the development of children’s language and literacy skills. Nevertheless, educators seem rarely to draw on multiple languages in literacy activities. Furthermore, situations where educators and parents jointly read to children are scarce. Luxembourg, which has implemented a programme of multilingual education in ECEC, is an ideal context to investigate literacy practices and language use of educators and parents. Drawing on observations in two multilingual centres in Luxembourg as well as interviews, the present study examines the interactions between the educators and the three-year-old children and those between the educators, parents, and children when the parents occasionally read books in the centres. The findings show that the educators in both centres used several languages and that the types of interactions differed. When the parents offered literacy activities, their use of languages and the roles they played also differed, varying from being fully involved to taking a marginal role. The findings can help educators and policymakers develop inclusive and participatory literacy practices which actively involve children and parents. [less ▲]

Students’ perspectives on their academic achievement during the Covid-19 pandemic: learner autonomy, school satisfaction and adult support

in Social Sciences and Humanities Open (2023), 7

Distance education, used to contain the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, radically altered adolescents’ learning experiences and affected their academic achievements. Based on a survey with adolescents aged 12 ... [more ▼]

Distance education, used to contain the spread of Covid-19 in 2020, radically altered adolescents’ learning experiences and affected their academic achievements. Based on a survey with adolescents aged 12-16 in Luxembourg, this study investigates the differences the 332 adolescents perceived in schoolwork when learning at school and from home during the pandemic in 2021, as well as predictors of their reported academic achievement. The findings show that the participants perceived their work as less interesting or useful and more difficult while learning from home and that the main predictors of their academic achievements were school achievements before the pandemic, school satisfaction, learner autonomy, and the ways that adults listen to them. Teacher and parent support played a subordinate role. [less ▲]

Children’s perspectives on their learning experiences during the pandemic

in Developmental and Adolescent Health (2023), 2(4),

The present paper is based on two online surveys of the mix-method projects COVID-Kids I and II which investigated children’s school experiences, emotional responses, and subjective well-being during the ... [more ▼]

The present paper is based on two online surveys of the mix-method projects COVID-Kids I and II which investigated children’s school experiences, emotional responses, and subjective well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The data of the 2020 questionnaire stem from 1,773 children aged 6-16 from Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland (Kirsch et al., 2021) and those of the second questionnaire from 502 children of the same age group in Luxembourg (Kirsch et al., 2022). The presentation will examine some of the participants’ challenges with home schooling as well as selected outcomes and conclude with a few implications. [less ▲]

Forschungsergebnisse und Forschungslücken zu Mehrsprachigkeit in der non-formalen Bildung in Luxemburg

Scientific Conference (2022, November 17)

Literacy mit Kleinkindern mit Erzieher*Innen und Eltern in Kindertagestätten

Scientific Conference (2022, October 14)

In 2017 führte Luxemburg ein mehrsprachiges Programm in der frühkindlichen Bildung ein: kleine Kinder lernen Luxemburgisch und machen sich mit Französisch vertraut, außerdem werden ihre Familiensprachen ... [more ▼]

In 2017 führte Luxemburg ein mehrsprachiges Programm in der frühkindlichen Bildung ein: kleine Kinder lernen Luxemburgisch und machen sich mit Französisch vertraut, außerdem werden ihre Familiensprachen wertgeschätzt. Literacy Aktivitäten in mehreren Sprachen sowie eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit Eltern sollen dies gewährleisten. Eine Umfrage sowie Beobachtungen im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts „Zusammenarbeit mit Eltern und Multiliteracies“ (COMPARE) zeigen, dass viele Erzieher*Innen Kindern in mehreren Sprachen vorlesen, dass die Qualität der Interaktionen aber sehr unterschiedlich ist. Eine Umfrage mit Eltern verdeutlicht zudem, dass etwa die Hälfte der Teilnehmer ihren Kindern in der Familiensprachen vorlasen. Dieser Beitrag wird Einblicke in die ersten Ergebnisse der Studie COMPARE geben mit besonderem Fokus auf die Literacy Aktivitäten, die Eltern gemeinsam mit Erzieher*Innen in drei Kindertagesstätten in 2020-2021 durchführten. Wir zeigen, dass die gemeinsamen Aktivitäten mit den Eltern zur Entwicklung von Multiliteracy Praktiken und der Wertschätzung von Familiensprachen führen kann, wenn die Erzieher*Innen ein gutes Verständnis von Literacy haben, in Bildungspartnerschaften investieren und sich Sprachhierarchien bewusst sind. [less ▲]