An exploration of school communication approaches for newly arrived EAL students: applying three dimensions of organisational communication theory. Issue 2 (4th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schneider, Claudia; Arnot, Madeleine
• Is Part Of: Cambridge journal of education. Volume 48:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 245
• Page End: 262
• Publication Date: 2018-03-04
• Subjects: School/teacher communication -- migration -- inclusion -- EAL students; Teachers -- Training of -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 370.5
• DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2017.1329399
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-764X

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the modes of school communication associated with language and cultural diversity, demonstrating how organisational communication theory can be applied to the analysis of schools' communication responses to the presence of pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL). The article highlights three analytical dimensions: the external factors influencing school communication systems; communication models reflected in school structures; and the content of communication between stakeholders. An exploratory study of a primary and a secondary school in the East of England, involving 32 semi-structured interviews with school managers, teachers, EAL staff, parents and newly arrived Eastern European students, reveals the interactional and transactional models of communication in the primary school, while the secondary school frequently used a linear approach. Communication in both schools showed a lack of information on EAL students and their parents, hindering a sustained outreach and empowering partnership, and possibly placing these students at a disadvantage.