Silence and silencing in the classroom : Rwandan girls' epistemic exclusion in English medium basic education

Tools

Kuchah, Kuchah and Adamson, Laela and Dorimana, Aline and Uwizeyemariya, Aloysie and Uworwabayeho, Alphonse and Milligan, Lizzi O. (2022) Silence and silencing in the classroom : Rwandan girls' epistemic exclusion in English medium basic education. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. ISSN 1747-7557 (https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2159031)

[thumbnail of Kuchah-etal-JMMD-2022-Silence-and-silencing-in-the-classroom-Rwandan-girls]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Kuchah_etal_JMMD_2022_Silence_and_silencing_in_the_classroom_Rwandan_girls.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (1MB)| Preview

Abstract

This paper develops the notion of epistemic exclusion as a way of exploring the different types of silence and silencing that happen in English medium Rwandan classrooms. By focusing on classroom observations of teachers' pedagogic practices and the ways in which girls interact in the classrooms, we demonstrate how experiences of epistemic exclusion intersect with other mechanisms of marginalisation, in this case related to gendered norms and expected behaviours. Through thematic analysis of dual classroom observation schedules and video transcriptions from 32 Primary Six and Secondary Three lessons in four government schools, we have identified examples where learners' engagement in the co-construction of language and subject knowledge was limited by classroom practices. Silence, and silencing, of girls was particularly observed in Secondary Three where reluctance to speak in class and respond to teachers' questions, combined with lack of confidence as evidenced through body language, deprived girls from participating in spontaneous classroom talk. Conclusions discuss how silencing limits girls' epistemic inclusion.

ORCID iDs

Kuchah, Kuchah, Adamson, Laela ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2471-3246, Dorimana, Aline, Uwizeyemariya, Aloysie, Uworwabayeho, Alphonse and Milligan, Lizzi O.;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:85476
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    31 December 2022
    Published
    31 December 2022
    Published Online
    7 December 2022
    Accepted
    Subjects:Education
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS)
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:11 May 2023 14:35
    Last modified:19 Dec 2024 01:32
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/85476
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)