Potentialer for interekulturel dannelse i elevers praksisser i folkeskolens tyskundervisning: Et studie af spændingsfeltet melem tyskfagets teoretiske, retoriske og kulturelle praksis

Potentials for intercultural education in pupils' practices in the German language in the lower secondary school. A study of the tension field between the German subject's theoretical, rhetorical and cultural practice. 

This study is situated in the field of cultural pedagogy and foreign language educational research. The title of the dissertation highlights the study's focus as being intercultural education and pupil practices. However, pupil practices are understood to be considerably influenced by two other practices, namely a theoretical practice that deals with the theoretical knowledge applied to the school subject area of German as a foreign language, and a rhetorical practice that encompasses discourses of different actors, including education policy actors, teachers and textbooks, interest groups, etc. All three practices embody the discipline of German language teaching.

In the introductory chapter of the dissertation, the research interest is explained through two main arguments: One is that national and international education policy initiatives for the promotion of intercultural education are reflected in [the national] curricula set out for the foreign language subjects in lower secondary school, as students' practices in lower secondary education in Denmark, especially within foreign language education, is underexposed. A second argument is the researcher's background, experience and interest in German as foreign language education at this level of schooling.

The understanding of the concept of practice on which this dissertation is based is developed in a discussion on Dewey's ontological pragmatism and Andreas Reckwitz' practice theory as a theory of culture. The localization of the social within the field of practice, as well as the conceptualization of body, mind, things, knowledge, discourse, structure/process and the agent differ from other concepts of culture. This conceptual understanding of practice involves a specific concept of language, which in this dissertation is based on Bakhtin's view on language as necessarily shaped of multiple voices engaging in dialogue. Language is a crucial factor in communication processes, but in this study, language is considered as tools of action, representation and mediation; thus, language is not only verbal sign, but all modes involved in meaning making processes.

Chapter 3 argues that the research question calls for an ethnographic and discourse-analytical approach, while the multiple case study is chosen as research strategy providing information on further choices. Empirical data was obtained by observations made in three form 9 classes in the Danish lower secondary school, with observations of approximately one month's duration for each class. During these periods, teaching was conducted by the use of the same teaching material, consisting mainly of a feature film, students' and teachers' books. These observations were supplemented by interviews and students' work. It is argued that the mediated nexus analysis is best suited for the analysis of empirical data, as this approach combines ethnographic methodology and discourse analysis. Hence, several subsections present methods of empirical data collection, data generation and analysis. The end of the chapter discusses the quality of the study.

In the following chapters (4, 5 and 6), analyses are presented within the three practical fields posed by the research question: theoretical, rhetorical and cultural practice.

Chapter 4 begins with a discussion of the concepts of Bildung and competence, in a historical development perspective and, subsequently, in the light of current didactic discourse. This discussion forms the basis for understanding 'intercultural political education’ as the core concept of the study. 

The following sections discuss the concept of culture and language within foreign language teaching. Concepts of culture are presented chronologically and discussed in relation to intercultural education. The concept of language is observed and developed between linguistics, social semiotics and dialogism. Together with cultural understanding and formation-competence, the discussion forms the background for the analysis of foreign language didactics within the field of German. Based on these observations, three prototypical culture didactics are developed and used in the analysis of rhetorical and cultural practices.

Chapter 5 unfolds the rhetorical practice, as formed by different actors within the area of education, through discourses on interculturalism, involving education policy documents, educational materials and teachers’ intentions and didactic designs. Those are expected to have a considerable impact on student practices in class. For these reasons, policy documents were analyzed with the application of a critical discourse analysis approach. For the analysis of learning materials, the applied approach was inspired by Karen Risager's intercultural model, which I combined with didactic analysis. The analyses of the observed didactics design in chapter 5 allowed for the identification of prototypical student actions across the three school cases. Analysis of these patterns of action among students, supplied with data from focus-group interviews and students’ work, is presented in chapter 6. Though interviews do not belong to cultural practices, they were important for the in-depth understanding of student actions. The cases to present were chosen by the criterion of maximum variation.

The conclusion summarizes the results of the three practical analyses, based on which the research question is answered. Finally, to support the results, recommendations and perspectives are outlined for the development of foreign language teaching targeted at promoting the intercultural education of students in the subject of German in lower secondary schools in Denmark.

The conclusion summarizes the results of the analyses of the three researched practices and, on this basis, answers the research question. The study demonstrates that though the cultural dimension of the rhetorical practice is gradually being emphasized, the national concept of culture still dominates, and the us-them dichotomy is still prevalent. The same trend applies to the analysis of the learning material and its didactic design as well as the teaching of three observed classes. On the other hand, the film, constituting part of the study material, has great potential for the development of a critical cultural awareness, which is also demonstrated by an intercultural didactic analysis and a multimodal interaction analysis. The observations of student practices could point to a large spread of student interaction patterns with the various mediating resources available. In relation to the development of intercultural competence, student interviews documented that some students were prepared to develop this competence. The conclusion argues that the lack of initiation of intercultural learning processes affects this potential in a negative way. The chapter concludes with perspectives for further research and recommendations for the further development of intercultural education of students with respect to the German as well as other foreign languages.