Andrew Hancock | University of Edinburgh (original) (raw)

Papers by Andrew Hancock

Language and Education, Oct 29, 2015

This article draws on research carried out in a Chinese complementary school in Scotland. The res... more This article draws on research carried out in a Chinese complementary school in Scotland. The research focused on children's experience of learning to read Chinese and on the strategies that they used to support their learning. Here, I provide an account of one particular aspect of this research, namely the creation of a dialogic space for gathering and interpreting data through the setting up of six reading conferences between individual students and their teacher. The reading conferences involved two broad activities. Both were audio-recorded. First each child was asked to read aloud a passage written in Chinese (a fable that they were familiar with). This was followed by a think-aloud session which took the form of a three-way dialogue between the child, the teacher and me (as the researcher). In this article, I show how the reading conferences unfolded by drawing on one example-that of Ying Yan i-an eight year old boy of Hong Kong heritage. I also detail some of the insights into Ying Yan's learning strategies that emerged from the three-way dialogue during the think-aloud sessions. The article concludes with reflection on: (1.) the particular advantages that accrue from creating such dialogic spaces for research, especially at the stage of data interpretation; and on (2.) the value of dialogic methodology in educational settings characterized by considerable linguistic and cultural diversity.

This thesis explores the experiences of Chinese children acquiring literacy in both Chinese and E... more This thesis explores the experiences of Chinese children acquiring literacy in both Chinese and English in Scotland. A three-dimensional research design is adopted in order to take into account the influential domains where children are exposed to literacy learning. First, it investigates the attitudes and approaches to literacy learning in fourteen Chinese homes, with evidence gathered from semi-structured interviews with parents. Second, observations of and conversations with children and Chinese teachers in a Chinese complementary school in the central belt of Scotland provide insights into the approaches to teaching and learning Chinese literacy. Third, miscue analysis of reading and thinking aloud protocols are conducted in mainstream schools with six Chinese boys, aged eight to nine years, in order to analyse in depth the reading strategies deployed by children in their attempts to gain meaning from both Chinese and English texts. The findings reveal that Chinese parents provide a rich learning environment where children consolidate and in some cases extend the literacy learning experiences gained in the complementary Chinese school. What also I am grateful to many people whose expertise and support have made this thesis possible. My special thanks to John Landon, whose in-depth knowledge of the field of bilingual education has taught me so much. I have also benefited from discussions with my other co-supervisor, Pat McLaughlin, who introduced me to phenomenology. I am thankful to Fan Lin, Heidi Tang and Cathy Sun for facilitating access to Chinese complementary schools in Scotland and for making me feel so welcome. Sincere thanks must go to all of the following: The children and their parents for inviting me into their homes. Professor Peter Foulkes for his comments, critique and encouragement throughout draft versions. Vivian Wai Wan Cheung for her precise incorporation of the Chinese script in this thesis. Jingyi Li and Chun Tai for their additional analysis of the Chinese reading sessions. Yin Ying Cairney, Kam Lee and Ka Yee Chiu for their introductions to the Chinese families and their assistance during the data collection process. This aspect of the research was financially supported by a research committee grant from the University of Edinburgh for which I am grateful. To Juliet, Jonathan and Daniel for their belief in this piece of work. II Chapter 2 Literature Review The seven grey exhibition halls [of the Forest of Steles Museum] house 2,300 stone tablets inscribed with classical Chinese texts of history and philosophy. A total of 600,252 characters are carved in stone. The earliest inscriptions are over a thousand years old. I wander breathlessly through the stone library, exhilarated and absorbed. Each tablet is a living testament to the past, each one deserves an exhibition room to itself.

The Scottish Government's ambitious 1 + 2 Language Strategy has refocused attention on language e... more The Scottish Government's ambitious 1 + 2 Language Strategy has refocused attention on language education policy (LEP) and the provision for learning additional languages in Scottish schools. However, the maintenance of community languages continues to be the responsibility of minoritised parents and their complementary schools. This article reports on a national survey of complementary school providers in order to gain insights into their perspectives of community language learning during the implementation of the 1 + 2 Language Strategy. Data are analysed using a Critical Language Policy (CLP) lens and reveal a complex picture of provision for teaching and learning community languages, outside of mainstream schools, and an untapped resource for language planning and valuing the linguistic diversity of Scotland. The article concludes with a discussion to inform future developments of the 1 + 2 Language Strategy, among which is greater engagement with language communities and a more nuanced planning approach to language learning for contemporary societies.

Education in the United Kingdom, 2015

Education in the United Kingdom, edited by Colin Brock, forms part of an 18-volume series looking... more Education in the United Kingdom, edited by Colin Brock, forms part of an 18-volume series looking at education across the globe. The first volume, Education around the world: A comparative introduction (2013) 1 provided the reader with a general overview of the field of international and comparative education. Other books in the ongoing series are being released as they are completed (e.g.,

Language and Education, 2006

EqualBITE, 2018

EqualBITE is values-driven. The very first thing we did when starting the project was to agree wh... more EqualBITE is values-driven. The very first thing we did when starting the project was to agree what values should inform it, and how they would be reflected in our own behaviour and decision-making. Our initial statement affirmed our understanding "that by embracing differences we create a more vibrant and rigorous intellectual, supportive and learning context for all our community." Why a recipe book? In BITE: Recipes for Remarkable Research (2014), the first book in this series, we were faced with the challenge of approaching and making sense of a complex research landscape, and making it accessible to a diverse audience. only when we met with student groups (a Gender Studies class, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) Illustration students, EUSA) and invited them to talk about things in their everyday experience, did they connect the phrase 'gender equality' with issues of everyday sexism.

Language and Education, 2015

Empowering student teachers to meet the challenge of multilingual schools in Scotland The post-de... more Empowering student teachers to meet the challenge of multilingual schools in Scotland The post-devolution context in Scotland has provided new opportunities for formulating and debating educational policy and practice which reflect a multilingual society. However, significant contradictions and questions of equity still remain among the different categories of heritage and minority languages in terms of ideology, provision and practice, as they compete within a predominately monolingual and assimilationist state policy. These issues will be examined in the light of pedagogical approaches, within an initial teacher education (ITE) institution, designed to support student teachers to reflect critically on their professional thinking and practice in response to increasingly diverse classrooms. The article concludes with some recommendations aimed to encourage teachers to become active agents of change.

This chapter investigates how student teachers respond to the linguistic landscape (LL) in the ci... more This chapter investigates how student teachers respond to the linguistic landscape (LL) in the city of Edinburgh. It describes how students at the beginning of their Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme took part in a 'camera safari' to engage in thinking about the multilingual communities that schools serve. The resulting corpus of photographic data captured by the students is drawn on to illustrate the range of LL in the city whilst the students' notes are analysed to gain insights into their varied perceptions of linguistic and cultural diversity. The study reveals that the student teachers interpreted LL from a variety of understandings which can be characterised as avoidance, acceptance and awareness. Finally, a critical examination is given of the use of LL as a pedagogical tool in teacher education and its effectiveness in contributing to student teachers' awareness of multilingual settings. Résumé Ce chapitre examine comment les enseignants en formation réagissent au paysage linguistique (LL Linguistic Landscape) dans la ville d'Édimbourg. Il décrit comment les étudiants au début de leur formation initiale (ITE Initial Teacher Education) ont pris part à un 'safari photo' pour s'engager dans une réflexion sur les communautés multilingues que leurs écoles desservent. L'ensemble des données photographiques capturées par les étudiants est utilisé pour illustrer l'éventail des LLs dans la ville et les observations des enseignants en formation sont analysées afin de mieux comprendre leurs perceptions variées de la diversité linguistique et culturelle. L'étude révèle que les futurs enseignants ont interprété les LLs à partir d'une variété de perceptions qu'on peut désigner comme l'évitement, l'acceptation et la sensibilisation. Enfin, une analyse critique est proposée de l'utilisation des LLs comme outil pédagogique dans la formation des enseignants et sur son efficacité quant à la sensibilisation au multilinguisme sociétal.

Citation for published version: Hancock, A 2012, Capturing the Linguistic Landscape of Edinburgh:... more Citation for published version: Hancock, A 2012, Capturing the Linguistic Landscape of Edinburgh: a pedagogical tool to investigate student teachers' understandings of cultural and linguistic diversity. in C Hélot, M Barni, R Janssens & C Bagna (eds), Linguistic Landscapes, Multilingualism and Social Change . Peter Lang Publishing Group, Frankfurt , pp. 249-266 . <http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=59 689&cid=448>

Most of the research on early literacy acquisition is conducted with monolingual children in the ... more Most of the research on early literacy acquisition is conducted with monolingual children in the English-speaking world who are learning to read and write in their home language. This chapter takes a different perspective and explores the issues faced by children engaging with literacies in their heritage language and in an additional language drawing on insights from the Global North (Scotland) and the Global South (South Africa). The chapter begins by describing the distinctiveness of the Scottish education system and the increasing linguistic diversity that is shaping Scotland's schools. This is followed by a look at different scholarly frameworks to support the understanding of children's biliteracy development, with particular attention paid to Hornberger's Continua of Biliteracy. This includes an examination of the additive bilingual model of Gaelic-medium education (GME). Next, the approaches to teaching reading using alphabetic scripts and reading in two languages is analysed with reference to English and isiXhosa. Finally, the chapter turns to the implications for provision and practices in multilingual contexts.

Language and Intercultural Communication, 2017

Education Innovation Series, 2016

Education holds the key to unlock human resources that a society needs to survive and fl ourish. ... more Education holds the key to unlock human resources that a society needs to survive and fl ourish. This is particularly salient in a borderless knowledge economy. For the past decades, the sterling performance of economies such as Hong Kong, Finland, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan in international studies (e.g., TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA) has channeled much attention away from the traditional centers of education research in America and Western Europe. Researchers, policy makers and practitioners all over the world wish to understand how education innovations propel the emerging systems from good to great to excellent, and how different their trajectories were compared to the systems in America and Western Europe. The Education Innovation Book Series, published by Springer, will delve into education innovations enacted by the Singapore education system and situate them in both the local and the broader international contexts. Primary focus will be given to pedagogy and classroom practices; education policy formulation and implementation; school and instructional leadership; and the context and interface between education research, policy and practice.We believe that the latter is critical in making education innovations come to bear. Each volume will document insights and lessons learned based on empirical research (both quantitative and qualitative) and theoretical analyses. Implications to research, policy and professional practice will be surfaced through comparing and synthesizing Singapore's experience with those of successful systems around the world. The audience of the edited volumes and monographs published in this series includes researchers, policy makers, practitioners and students in the fi elds of education and teacher education, and public policies related to learning and human resources.

Language Problems and Language Planning, 2014

Scotland is a small country yet it has a rich and complex linguistic makeup. The aim of this arti... more Scotland is a small country yet it has a rich and complex linguistic makeup. The aim of this article is to analyse the current picture of the role of language education policy (LEP) in supporting and developing Scotland’s diverse languages drawing on policy documents, policy discourses and school pedagogies. The article begins with a historical account of multilingual Scotland in order to contextualize LEP and to dispel the myth of a monolingual country. This is followed by an examination of the three main language perspectives currently influencing LEP: regional languages, modern foreign languages and the languages of migrant communities. It will be illustrated that a post-devolutionary arena has provided opportunities for formulating and debating LEP which reflect a multilingual society, but significant imbalances and questions of equity still remain between the different categories of languages in terms of ideology, provision and practice. Finally, Lo Bianco’s (2007) taxonomy of ...