The impact of Dutch teachers on family language policy of Turkish immigrant parents

Abstract

In talking about family language policy in the Turkish immigration context in the Netherlands, teachers emerged as the key actors in shaping parental language choices and practices. Previous research has shown that teachers take a central role in the implementation of school language policy but there is not much research on the influence of mainstream teachers on language practices of minority parents in the home context. In this paper, we will combine the evidence derived from observations on 20 families, interviews with 35 parents and with 5 classroom teachers in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Findings show that there is a serious degree of mismatch between parental aspirations regarding teachers’ professional advice for parents and teacher expectations regarding parental role in the schooling of immigrant children and the use of home language. The interaction between parental beliefs and teachers’ opinions show diverging attitudes towards the value of heritage language, schooling and parental participation.