Here is a second article relating to first language and bilingual education in Africa from "id21 insights education" at http://www.id21.org/insights/insights-ed05/insightsEdn5.pdf . This one discusses research on the impact on girls. It finds that education in the mother tongue (as part of a bilingual strategy) is especially beneficial for girls' education.
The article uses "dominant" groups which I found confusing - not the same term used in other articles I've seen. In reality one can for most countries substitute "official language" for "dominant groups" in the first paragraph and "official" for "dominant" in the third. On the other hand, when countries (like South Africa) have more than one official language, the choice of term becomes more problematic. (One can of course say that in most countries the official languages are dominant because they are the official, and that people who speak the language of power are in effect a dominant group. But this is not an issue of concern here.) I think this research is important because some efforts to promote girls' schooling start from the viewpoint that it is ignorance on the part of parents and communities that lead them not to send their daughters to school. In fact the issue is more complicated, as this article shows. One could suggest that greater use of mother tongue and bilingual education will benefit girls in Africa more than additional programs to convince their parents to send them to monolingual L2 schools. Don Gender, language and inclusion Schooling designed for dominant groups excludes other learners. Girls are particularly vulnerable because of their home responsibilities and the unsupportive attitudes of families and teachers. New evidence suggests that the inclusive strategies used in mother tongue-based bilingual education benefit girls even more than boys no matter what group they are from. Studies in Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Mozambique have found that more girls enrol in bilingual schools, that they repeat classes less frequently and that they stay in school longer than girls learning in the dominant language. More quantitative and qualitative research that separates data by sex is needed, but there are clear indications that girls benefit from learning in their first language due to factors such as: Higher female enrolment Families have more confidence in the educational outcome if their daughters can attend a school that communicates in a familiar language, especially when accompanying cultural values are respected. Traditional views may also be challenged, as happened in Bará, Guinea-Bissau: the bilingual programme convinced many caregivers that girls with a formal education could still be good wives, mothers and community members. Increased parent participation Improved communication encourages families to talk to teachers, support students' learning and become more involved in school decision-making. For example, parents of bilingual students in Xai-Xai, Mozambique, got involved in repairing the school premises and contributed to the curriculum. Less exploitation of girls Male teachers from the same linguistic and cultural communities as their students are more subject to social control and less likely to exploit girls sexually or otherwise. In Mozambique, bilingual male teachers were called by familial terms such as `uncle', and had closer ties with students' families than teachers who only spoke Portuguese. Mother tongue-based schooling also contributes to girls' psychological well-being. Girls learn better, gain self-esteem, build selfconfidence and have higher aspirations for the future, making academic success more achievable. Educational programmes that build on learners' strengths, and especially the languages in which they communicate best, benefit all students, but especially girls. Carol Benson Centre for Teaching and Learning, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden T +46 816 4262 F +46 816 4457 [EMAIL PROTECTED] See also Girls, Educational Equity and Mother Tongue-based Teaching, by Carol Benson, UNESCO, Bangkok, 2005 www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/Girls_Edu_Equity ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/WktRrD/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
