TURKISH-LANGUAGE EDUCATORS AS LANGUAGE MANAGERS: BILINGUALISM IN PRACTICE

Autors/ores

  • Christina Maligkoudi Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
  • Ourania Karabournou Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i8.6817

Paraules clau:

minority education, bilingualism, bilingual education, teachers’ attitudes and practices

Resum

Minority education has a long-standing presence in the region of Thrace, Greece. The bilingual curriculum followed in minority schools is of particular interest, as some subjects are taught in Turkish while others are taught in Greek. However, to what extent can one speak of substantial bilingual education when the two languages do not interact either in teaching practices or within the curriculum itself? This study aims to explore the perceptions and practices of teachers involved in the Turkish-language curriculum of minority elementary schools regarding their students’ bilingualism. The research was conducted through interviews with nine teachers, and the data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The main findings reveal a strong paradox: although educators generally adopt a more monolingual perspective on bilingualism, they nonetheless inevitably employ translanguaging teaching approaches to address their learners’ needs. However, due to the intense ideological conflicts in the region of Thrace, they appear reluctant to acknowledge these practices openly.

Biografies de l'autor/a

  • Christina Maligkoudi, Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

    Christina Maligkoudi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the Democritus University of Thrace, specializing in the education of minority groups. She is also the principal investigator of the HFRI-funded research project Interaction, which aims to empower minority students in tertiary education. She has published extensively in journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings on intercultural education, sociolinguistic aspects of bilingualism, bilingual education, and educational policy.

  • Ourania Karabournou, Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

    Ourania Karabournou is a graduate of the Department of Primary Education at the Democritus University of Thrace, and her research interests lie in the fields of minority education and teachers’ beliefs and practices.

Referències

Androussou, A., Askouni, N., Dragonas, T., Frangoudaki, A., & Plexousaki, E. (2011). Educational and Political Challenges in Reforming the Education of the Muslim Minority in Thrace, Greece. International Journal of Learning, 17(11), 227-239. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286124159_Educational_and_political_challenges_in_reforming_the_education_of_the_Muslim_minority_in_Thrace_Greece

Askouni, N. (2006). Minority Education in Thrace: From Marginalization to the Prospect of Social Integration. Alexandria [in Greek].

Blackledge, A., & Creese, A. (2017). Translanguaging and the body. International Journal of Multilingualism, 14(3), 250–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2017.1315809

Bosch, J. E., Olioumtsevits, K., Santarelli, S. A. A., Faloppa, F., Foppolo, F., & Papadopoulou, D. (2025). How do teachers view multilingualism in education? Evidence from Greece, Italy and The Netherlands. Language and Education, 39(2), 337–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2380073

Bryman, A. (2017). Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Further Reflections on Their Integration. In J. Brannen (Ed.), Mixing Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Research (pp. 57-78). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315248813-3

Canagarajah, S. (2017). Translingual Practices and Neoliberal Policies. In Suresh Canagarajah (Ed.), Translingual Practices and Neoliberal Policies. Springer Briefs in Linguistics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41243-6_1

Council of Europe (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment—Companion Volume. Council of Europe Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages

Chatzidaki, A., & Maligkoudi, C. (2023). Community-language development among minority-group children [Undergraduate textbook]. Kallipos, Open Academic Editions. https://dx.doi.org/10.57713/kallipos-359 [in Greek]

Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking Monolingual Instructional Strategies in Multilingual Classrooms. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10, 221-240. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228368309_Rethinking_Monolingual_Instructional_Strategies_in_Multilingual_Classrooms

Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (2005). Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research. In Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd Edition, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1-32. Retrieved from https://scispace.com/pdf/the-discipline-and-practice-of-qualitative-research-115e5ox768.pdf

Dragonas, T., & Frangoudaki, A. (2006). Educating the Muslim minority in Western Thrace. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 17(1), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410500399268

Dragonas, T., Frangoudaki, A. (2020). The Project on the Education of Muslim Minority Children in Thrace, Greece: Stimulating the Educational Process and Enhancing Collaborative Practices. In Skourtou, E., Kourtis-Kazoullis, V., Aravossitas, T., Trifonas, P. (eds) Language Diversity in Greece (Eds.), Multilingual Education, vol 36. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28396-4_8

Faloppa, F., Bosch, J., Foppolo, F., Olioumtsevits, K., Papadopoulou, D., Santarelli, S. & Marinis, T. (2022). Multilingualism in migration settings: children and adult learners in formal education. DOI: 10.48787/kops/352-2-9ugqswkm4a3x0. Retrieved from https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/ed20a03c-d9f7-4748-818b-77c0eb9400b1/content

García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Basil/Blackwell. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Bilingual_Education_in_the_21st_Century.html?id=bW6V__K95ckC&redir_esc=y

Garcia, O., Flores, N., & Woodley, H. (2012). Transgressing Monolingualism and Bilingual Dualities: Translanguaging Pedagogies. In A. Yiakoumetti (Ed.), Harnessing Linguistic Variation to Improve Education (pp. 45-75). Peter Lang. Retrieved from https://ofeliagarciadotorg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/surbaneduca120920150401.pdf

García, O., & Leiva, C. (2014). Theorizing and Enacting Translanguaging for Social Justice. In A. Blackledge, & A. Creese (Eds.), Heteroglossia as Practice and Pedagogy. Educational Linguistics (Vol. 20, pp. 199-216). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7856-6_11

García, O. (2017). Critical multilingual language awareness and teacher education. In J. Cenoz, St. May, & D. Gorter (Eds.), Language awareness and multilingualism (pp. 263–280). Cham: Springer. Retrieved from https://ofeliagarciadotorg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/critical-multilingual-awareness-copy.pdf

Heller, M. (1999). Linguistic minorities and modernity: A sociolinguistic ethnography. Longman. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Linguistic_Minorities_and_Modernity.html?id=snHUAwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Leung, C., & Valdes, G. (2019). Translanguaging and the Transdisciplinary Framework for Language Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual World. The Modern Language Journal, 103, 348-370. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12568

Karatsareas, P. (2022). Semi-Structured Interviews. In R. Kircher & L. Zipp (Eds.), Research Methods in Language Attitudes (pp. 99–113). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108867788.010

Maligkoudi, C., & Mavrommatis, G. (2025). Exploring teachers’ language attitudes in the context of a bilingual primary educational system: The case of the Greek-Turkish minority schools in Thrace, Greece. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 19(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2023.2212825

Moschonas, S. (2019). Parallel monolingualisms in W. Thrace. In J. Pennington, V. Friedman, & L. Grenoble (Eds.), Studies dedicated to Brian J. Joseph (pp. 209–230). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/89851893/Parallel_monolingualisms_in_W_Thrace

Sakonidis, C., Klothou, A. (2024). Socio-political features shaping the mathematics teaching and professional identities of Muslim minority teachers in Western Thrace. ZDM Mathematics Education, 56, 511–523 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-024-01601-y

Tsiolis, G. (2018). Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data. In: Zamakis, G., Ed., Research Trajectories in the Social Sciences. Theoretical-Methodological Contributions and Case Studies, University of Crete-Lab of Social Analysis and Applied Social Research, 97-125 [In Greek]

Tsitselikis, K., & Mavrommatis, G. (2019). Turkish in Greece: The Turkish language in education in Greece (2nd ed.). Mercator-Education. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED599941

Tsitselikis, K. (2023). Linguistic Rights in Greece: Crossing Through Territorial and Non-Territorial Arrangements. In: Smith, D.J., Dodovski, I., Ghencea, F. (eds) Realising Linguistic, Cultural and Educational Rights Through Non-Territorial Autonomy. ENTAN 2022. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19856-4_8

Zachos D., Papadimitriou N. & Sideri E. (2020). Minority Education in Greece: Thrace Muslim Teachers’ Approaches and Views. Preschool and Primary Education. 8 (2),144-157. https://doi.org/10.12681/ppej.21897

Descàrregues

Publicat

2026-06-24

Número

Vol. 13 Núm. 8 (2026)

Secció

Articles

Llicència

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).