PHUV9410 Professional Practice and Language Barriers Course description

Approved by the Doctoral Committee 28.03.2019. Minor changes approved 27.04.2020.

This PhD course is open for PhD candidates who are working on research projects in which linguistic diversity, language barriers and professional practice are topics of relevance.

The course will be offered in English.

The course will focus on research topics such as linguistic diversity and communication in institutional settings within education, health and the remainder of the public sector. The PhD candidates will become acquainted with a variety of empirical and theoretical approaches to linguistic diversity, interpreting and professional practice. Relevant topics include the importance of power, roles, rights, and duties. Students will especially be encouraged to reflect critically upon challenges related to language barriers and communication in their own research projects.

Knowledge

The candidate has in-depth knowledge of:

• language as a tool in encounters between professional practitioners and their clients, with and without interpreters
• communication challenges in situations with language barriers
• relevant theories on dialogical and monological understandings of language, and on oral and written communication in encounters with language barriers
• the relationship between language and power in situations with language barriers

Skills

The candidate:

• can critically analyze their own material in terms of language, communication and interpreting
• can identify and analyze how language barriers and interpreting affect communication and professional behavior

General competence

The candidate:

• can use theories on language and communication to elucidate their own research material
• can select and apply appropriate methods for analyzing language barriers and communication challenges

Approved by the Doctoral Committee 28.03.2019. Minor changes approved 27.04.2020.

This PhD-course is open for candidates at the PhD Programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education, PhD candidates from other relevant programmes, and academic employees.

Language: English (or Norwegian, dependent on the language of participants and course holders).

The classroom is the most important arena for research on learning and teaching. This includes the implementation of curricula, the teacher-student relationships, the students’ different learning conditions, the use of different teaching methods, classroom and group organization, students with special needs, teacher collaboration and more.

The course will focus on central research methods used in classroom research: Observation, including video observation, various forms of interviews, re-use of data and analysis of data. The main aim is to introduce the participants to observation and interview as research methods in the context of classroom research, to provide an insight into research designs and analytical approaches, and to build participants` capacity to create and implement adequate research designs on their own.

The course is organized by the research community "Classroom research" (Klasseromsforskning) and the Faculty of Education and International Studies, Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education.

On completion of the course, the candidate will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The candidate

• is in the forefront of qualitative classroom research
• has in-depth knowledge of observation and interview as central research methods
• can evaluate the expediency and application of different methods and processes in classroom research (different traditions in observational methodology, interview methodology, observation design, interview design and approaches to analysing data)
• has in-depth knowledge about ethical challenges concerning classroom research
• has in-depth knowledge of validity, reliability and generalizability in qualitative classroom research
• can assess the appropriateness and application of various observation and interview methods in qualitative classroom research
• can contribute to the development of different approaches to analysing observation and interview data in the filed of classroom research
• can contribute to the development of new knowledge, new theories, methods, interpretations and forms of documentation in the field of classroom research

Skills

The candidate:

• can professionally carry out classroom observation and interviews
• can design and carry out research and academic development related to classroom observation and interviews
• can develop, create and implement different observation and interview designs at a high international level in the context of classroom research
• can challenge established knowledge and practice within classroom research

General competence

The candidate:

• can identify and establish constructive connections between theories, research methods, empirical data, analysis and findings
• can identify relevant ethical issues regarding the use of classroom observation and interviews
• can present their research with high academic integrity
• can participate in discussions around methodological benefits and challenges related to the use of observation and interviews in qualitative classroom research

Lectures, seminars and workshops:

• in lectures, the focus is on theoretical and practical perspectives on observation, interviews and analysis of data in the context of classroom research
• in seminars, the candidates must be prepared to present and discuss their own research project and use of methods, and to provide feedback on other participants’ contributions
• in workshops, the candidates will receive comments on their paper from course leaders and fellow students. The paper should be linked to the candidate’s PhD-project, and focus on methodology and/or analysis of data relevant to classroom research

Preparations for the course

Students are expected to read the syllabus before the first part of the course to be able to participate actively in discussions.

Coursework requirement are:

1. 80 % attendance on the course.

2. Each participant presents orally his/her research project in a plenary seminar with focus on research methods and analysis, 10 minutes each.

The paper will be assessed by the course coordinator and a member of the academic staff involved in the PhD-program.

Target group

In societies characterized by linguistic diversity, language barriers are a commonplace experience for practitioners within most professions. Even in research projects on professional practice that are not directly oriented towards linguistic plurality in itself, the candidate may be compelled to address challenges related to communication across languages barriers, with or without the involvement of an interpreter. In order to handle complex language situations in an adequate way, it is often necessary for the researcher to account for linguistic diversity and the use of interpreters (or lack thereof), and in a broader perspective than we experience today.

The target groups are PhD candidates / students and scientific staff who want to learn about professional practice and language barriers and thereby expand their research tool kit. The course aims at PhD candidates admitted to the PhD Program in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education and other relevant programs. It is also open to staff members at OsloMet and other universities / colleges. The course is also open for candidates from other universities in Norway and abroad.

Admission requirements

The admission requirement is a five-year master’s degree (three years + two years) or equivalent qualifications in teacher education, other pedagogical education, educational science, development studies, or other education on equivalent level in subjects relevant for teacher education.

In case of a large number of applicants, PhD-students enrolled in the PhD programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education will be prioritized, then students in other PhD-programmes, then academic employees at the Faculty of Teacher Education and International Studies.

Applicants that are not enrolled on the PhD-programme at the Faculty of Education and International Studies at OsloMet must send a summary in English of maximum one A4 sheet with relevant information about their own project / area of interest, containing topic, methodology, theoretical approach, and why this course might be relevant for their project.