‘It’s a bit contradictory’: teachers’ stances to (practiced) language policies in German-language ECEC in Italy

Abstract

Linguistic minority spaces tend to have a long history of language-ideological struggles that are often fought on the terrain of education, which is further complexified in the light of more recent migration. The northernmost Italian province of South Tyrol is such a space, in which German-language preschools are increasingly attended by children not commonly positioned as ‘German-speaking’, inevitably leading to challenges to the language education policies of these institutions. Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper investigates how teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) interpret and position themselves in relation to institutional and practiced language policies in this context. We show that teachers base their interpretations of language policies on a variety of sources, including written and ratified policy texts, the structural organisation of their institution, and their own beliefs and experience. We argue that contradictions embedded in institutional language policies require teachers to professionally navigate the demands placed on them in upholding the monolingualism of their institution, and in educating multilingual children. This paper sheds light on the complexities of (practiced) language policies in multilingual societies characterised by migration, providing insights into the challenges faced by ECEC teachers and highlighting the potential for ethnographic research to inform professional development initiatives.