Mahera Ruby | The Open University (original) (raw)

Papers by Mahera Ruby

existing methodology unreflectively but to consider how the whole range of data collection and th... more existing methodology unreflectively but to consider how the whole range of data collection and theorisation can put them in a position to offer a serious analysis of their research questions. Twenty-first-century social and educational research is contesting many of the assumptions typical of earlier decades. This has been influenced by the broader acceptance of qualitative methodologies, but of greater significance is the postmodern growth in caution about research claims, especially claims about causality. Educational research takes snapshots of a very complex and problematic endeavour, a contested arena in which there is little consensus about educational aims, values and best practice. Educator-researchers bring their own presuppositions to the enterprise, and this affects the kinds of data they seek, and the ways they conceptualise their results. It even influences what they hear and what they see. Researcher reflexivity has never been more essential. Since this book rightly unsettles old certainties, I hope it will be widely read. There is no other similar hard-hitting book on educational methodology and causality that is easily available today.

Recent qualitative research has started to address the processes of working in research teams in ... more Recent qualitative research has started to address the processes of working in research teams in the social sciences and in ethnography in particular. Although the image of the lone ethnographer still persists, larger diverse and often multi-disciplinary teams are becoming more and more frequent. There is still limited research, however, on how members of a research team engage in knowledge building and negotiate interpretations and positionings (but see Conteh et al 2005, Creese et al 2008, Jones et al 2000 for notable exceptions). Our presentation reports on findings from the first of a three year ESRC funded project on language and literacy learning among young Londoners across four faith communities (RES-062-23-1613). The faith communities consist of Ghanaian Pentacostalists, Bangladeshi British Muslims, Polish Catholics and Tamil Hindus who have largely migrated to the UK since 1950. Our aim in this presentation is to explore how through our noticings we privilege particular as...

This chapter discusses how a grandmother in the British Bangladeshi community of Tower Hamlets, E... more This chapter discusses how a grandmother in the British Bangladeshi community of Tower Hamlets, East London, enables all the children in her home-based Bengali class to play a role in the lesson. This unique intergenerational relationship has been largely absent from previous research studies.

Language is learned most effectively as a tool of communication and understanding, whether it is ... more Language is learned most effectively as a tool of communication and understanding, whether it is children’s mother tongue, a second language or a foreign language. Vygotskyan theory highlights this by explaining how learners move from interpersonal to intrapersonal understandings, internalising language and concepts constructed through interactions with others (Vygotsky, 1962). The principle of mainstreaming for children learning English as an Additional Language is based on the idea that they will acquire English more quickly by engaging with the curriculum with the help of peers and teachers. Meanwhile, the increasingly popular foreign language teaching approach of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) has shown that learning geography through French, for example, aids achievement in both subjects (Coyle et al, 2010).

This study investigated the intergenerational relationships between grandparents, parents and chi... more This study investigated the intergenerational relationships between grandparents, parents and children from Bangladeshi British families in East London, and the impact these relationships had on the learning that took place between the generations. The study also investigated how this contributed to the child's learning experiences at home and at school. I collected data within an ethnographic framework using participant observation, interviews, questionnaires and video recordings. Through an ethnographic approach and an approach to analysis which I refer to as an ‘analysis of verbal and non-verbal interactions’ I was able to analyze the data from the four children, their grandmothers, mothers and teachers who participated in the study. The analysis highlights the complexities of their interactions and the way learning took place as each child completed a puzzle with the help of their mother, grandmother or teacher. The study reveals how the children negotiated their way through...

Race Equality Teaching, 2013

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Feb 1, 2012

... year-old Aisha, who lives with her parents Latifa and Abdur Rahman and her two older siblings... more ... year-old Aisha, who lives with her parents Latifa and Abdur Rahman and her two older siblings, brother Isa and sister Tanya. ... Bangladesh, following traditional cultural values of respecting parents and elders, and ensuring that people will not see children misbehave when they ...

Literacy, 2008

Stories and poetry have long been considered a resource for the language and literacy development... more Stories and poetry have long been considered a resource for the language and literacy development of bilingual children, particularly if they can work with texts in both mother tongue and English. This paper demonstrates that bilingual learning is also beneficial for second and third generation children whose English is often stronger than their mother tongue. Presenting data from an action research project in East London primary schools, we show how children investigated metaphor and cultural content in a Bengali lullaby, clarifying concepts through dialogue with their parents. Comparison with a lullaby in English from North America generated additional ideas concerning different cultural values. The learning process enabled children to use their bilingual skills and draw on different aspects of their bicultural identities. Finally, we explain how bilingual poetry can be used to stimulate learning in a multilingual classroom context, through the example of a whole-class lesson based around Bengali and English lullabies.

Linguistics and Education, 2011

... on the other: 'I'm not getting old I've not got old skin' (Sam, aged 3)... more ... on the other: 'I'm not getting old I've not got old skin' (Sam, aged 3); 'When dada [grandpa] was ill we were very sad, we asked ... In the extract below drawn from the video data, Razia, the grandmother of Sahil (aged 6), opens a scrapbook with large plain pages and tells him to ...

Language, Culture and Curriculum, 2008

... DOI: 10.1080/07908310802287483 Charmian Kenner a * , Eve Gregory a , Mahera Ruby a & Salm... more ... DOI: 10.1080/07908310802287483 Charmian Kenner a * , Eve Gregory a , Mahera Ruby a & Salman Al-Azami a pages 120-137. Available online: 19 Dec 2008. ...

Language and Education, 2008

The computer is widely recognised as a cultural tool with the potential to enhance learning, and ... more The computer is widely recognised as a cultural tool with the potential to enhance learning, and children are considered to develop ICT skills with particular facility. However, young children still require assistance in order to gain the maximum educational benefit. This study investigates how such assistance was given to 3-6 year olds by their grandparents, in Sylheti/Bengali-speaking families and monolingual English-speaking families living in East London. A multimodal analysis of videorecorded computer activities reveals the reciprocity of teaching and learning taking place between the generations. In each case, grandparents and grandchildren combined their resources in order to negotiate the activity, with adults usually providing knowledge of literacy and numeracy whilst children helped with computer skills. The intergenerational exchange was especially evident in Sylheti/Bengalispeaking families, where grandparents were less familiar with English or with the computer and operated bilingually with their grandchildren to co-construct learning. However, the support offered by grandparents was found to have common elements in all families, as they helped children to structure the learning event, maintain concentration and accomplish tasks relying on linguistic and cultural knowledge.

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2012

Journal of Early Childhood Research, 2007

This study investigates the learning exchange between three-to sixyear-old children and their gra... more This study investigates the learning exchange between three-to sixyear-old children and their grandparents, in Sylheti/Bengali-speaking families of Bangladeshi origin and monolingual English-speaking families living in east London. The following concepts from sociocultural theory are applied to this new area of intergenerational learning: 'scaffolding', 'synergy' leading to mutual benefi ts for the young child and their caregiver, 'syncretizing' of knowledge from different sources, 'funds of knowledge' within communities, and the transmission of knowledge or 'prolepsis' between generations. Methods include an initial survey at a primary school to establish the range of learning activities taking place at home between grandparents and children, followed by case studies of nine families through interviews, video-recording and scrapbooks. Qualitative analysis of the data reveals how learning interactions are co-constructed by children and grandparents within a relationship of mutuality in which touch is a particularly signifi cant mode of communication. The intergenerational exchange develops concepts and skills that complement children's school learning, and involves cultural continuity as well as change.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, 2011

Please provide short author biographies 2 Dunn J (1989) The family as an educational environment ... more Please provide short author biographies 2 Dunn J (1989) The family as an educational environment in the preschool years. In: Desforges CW (ed.

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2013

Connecting children's worlds: creating a multilingual syncretic curriculum in partnership with co... more Connecting children's worlds: creating a multilingual syncretic curriculum in partnership with complementary schools Abstract Children from minority language backgrounds have multiple sites of learning: home, community, mainstream school, and in some cases complementary school where they study their mother tongue after school or at weekends. However, due to the institutional constraints of an education system based on monolingual principles, mainstream teachers are often unaware of the contribution that complementary classes make to children's learning, or unsure of how to draw on their pupils' linguistic knowledge in the curriculum. Children's multilingual identities and their other worlds of learning therefore remain invisible in mainstream school. This paper describes an action research study with teachers from complementary and mainstream schools in East London, in which they jointly planned lessons around topics that were then taught in both settings. The complementary teachers brought a holistic perspective based in the linguistic and cultural knowledge of their communities, which enabled these resources to be brought into mainstream learning, thus creating a syncretic curriculum that led to an increase in agency of children and their families as well as teachers themselves. We argue that collaboration between complementary and mainstream teacher colleagues can play a crucial role in constructing a space for multilingual learning in a monolingualising society.

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 2007

Grandparents play a significant role in childcare and one activity that frequently occurs within ... more Grandparents play a significant role in childcare and one activity that frequently occurs within this context is story-reading. However, relatively little attention has been given to the potential part that grandparents can play in terms of language and literacy development of young children. This article reports on work investigating the interlingual and intercultural exchanges occurring in a home setting in East London. In particular, it focuses on how the traditional heritage pattern of story and rhyme reading by a grandmother of Bengali origin is fused with evident practices experienced by her six year old grandchild. The data not only reveal the multiple worlds inhabited by the grandchild during story-reading but also the syncretism of these worlds on a number of levels. This paper contributes to the small but growing body of investigation into the reading styles occurring within families from different cultural backgrounds.