CLER Conversation - Silence and Silencing in the classroom: Rwandan girls’ epistemic exclusion in English Medium basic education with Harry Kuchah Kuchah

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Silence and Silencing in the classroom: Rwandan girls’ epistemic exclusion in English Medium basic education

Abstract

In the research literature on the use of an unfamiliar language of learning and teaching (LoLT), such as English, in basic education, there is persistent evidence of quiet classrooms. These involve learners who are silent, reluctant to speak, and who are constrained by the type of talk in which they can engage (Brock-Utne, 2007; McKinney et al, 2015; Vuzo, 2010). However, there is a need for a stronger theoretical basis for understanding how different forms of silence and silencing relate to broader learning processes and structural inequalities for multilingual children. This presentation draws on, and extends Kiramba’s (2018) idea of epistemic exclusion and argues that it allows a nuanced understanding of classroom silence and silencing for girls in English medium education (EME). The focus on girls is because, despite the significant evidence base for the detrimental impact of an unfamiliar LoLT for children across Sub-Saharan Africa, there is still very limited evidence of the impact that learning in an unfamiliar language has on girls’ educational outcomes. This is perhaps surprising given the girls’ education focus in global and national education agenda, for example, related to Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5.

This presentation starts by mapping the emergence of a gender gap in English in Rwandan primary and secondary schools and describes a research study that built on these differences to investigate in- and out-of-school factors that might account for this gap. By focusing on data collected through classroom observations of teachers’ pedagogic practices and the ways in which girls interact in the classrooms, the presentation provides evidence of how experiences of epistemic exclusion intersect with other mechanisms of marginalisation. The notion of epistemic exclusion is used here as a way of exploring the different ways in which girls are silent and silenced in English medium Rwandan classrooms thus limiting opportunities for them to engage in spontaneous meaning making activities that promote quality learning. The presentation concludes that gender parity must not be limited to access to education; rather, we need education systems in which girls are supported through primary and secondary education to achieve quality learning through epistemic inclusion for all.

Bio - Dr Harry Kuchah Kuchah

Dr Harry Kuchah Kuchah is Lecturer in Language Education at the University of Leeds, UK, where he also serves as Leader of the MA Education programme and Research Impact Lead. He is Past President of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and is currently Chair of the British Council English Language Advisory Group. Harry has been involved in a range of research, teacher education and materials development initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Asia and Europe. More recently, he has served as a Consultant with the Council of Europe in Albania, with Windle Trust International in South Sudan and with the British Council in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and China. His research interests include Teaching English to Young Learners, English Medium Education at school level, and Language teacher education and he has published in these areas. He is co-editor of International Perspectives on Teaching English in Difficult Circumstances (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and Ethical and methodological issues in researching young language learners in school contexts (Multilingual Matters, 2021).