Leadership for Multilingualism Framework

We can place each school on a continuum from monolingual to multilingual, both in terms of its context and orientation.

Monolingual Multilingual

A school with a monolingual context is characterised by one language within the community whereas a school with a multilingual context has multiple langauges used by mebers of the community. In reality, almost every school has a multilingual context, even if the multilingualism might not be immediately evident.

A school with a monolingual orientation is organised on an assumption of monolingualism with a single language positioned as legitimate or superior and monolingualism positioned as the norm or ideal. This has been termed within research literature as a monolingual bias or monolingual habitus. At the other end of the continuum, a school with a multilingual orientation views linguistic diversity as positive and is organised to promote and leverage the multilingualism of its community.

The predominant monolingual bias in many schools means that, even though they are multilingual in their context, their orientation remains monolingual. We can place such schools in quadrant A below and see that leadership is required to shift such as school towards quadrant C, in which a multilingual context is aligned with the multilingual orientation.

All school leaders have shared responsibility for ensuring such alignment and ensuring that multilingualism is leveraged as a reality, a right, and a resource within the school. School transformation of this sort cannot be the sole responsibility of specialist staff such as EAL teachers.

We can identify two interconnected and shared responsibilities of all school leaders:

• to be responsive with a multilingual context by responding to and navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by linguistic diversity
• to be transformational to realize a multilingual orientation by leading shifts towards inclusion and equity for linguistically diverse students

We act upon these responsibilities within three spheres (which I term the 3P’s):

• personal beliefs
• practices
• policies

Shifting towards a multilingual orientation in all three of these spheres is necessary to build meaningful change.

This model is advocating for what Rojas (2023) terms a shift from a ‘medical model’ in which meeting the needs of multilingual learners is seen as the sole responsibilities of ‘”fixers” of learners’ towards an ‘ecological response‘ in which all teachers share responsibility for MLLs’ language development, academic progress, and wellbeing.

Multilingualism is a reality, a right, and a resource.

So, school leaders are called to be
responsive within a multilingual context     by responding to and navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by linguistic diversity	transformational to realize a multilingual orientation   by leading shifts towards inclusion and equity for linguistically diverse students

To achieve this, all leaders take an ecosystems approach and act responsively and transformatively in three interconnected areas (3Ps):   personal beliefs       practices                    policies

To do this effectively, leaders need to develop particular head, heart, and hand competencies:
Head   The knowledge and understanding leaders require to lead for multilingualism.	Heart   The attitudes and values leaders require to lead for multilingualism.	Hand   The skills leaders require to lead for multilingualism.

As school leaders, to truly lead for multilingualism we need to build our competencies within three domains: head (knowledge and understanding, heart (attitudes and values), and hand (skills). These include (but are not limited to!) competencies such as those listed below (which are outlined in more detail in my chapter).

HEAD

• Knowing about the languages represented within your school community

• Understanding how languages are acquired and learned, including for students of different ages and language profiles

• Understanding the interconnectedness of language and learning and pedagogical approaches that reflect this relationship

• Understanding that language is more than just a communication tool

• Understanding how language intersects with power, privilege, and inequity

HEART

• Appreciating the value of linguistic diversity for communities and individuals
• Approaching languages with curiosity and open-mindedness
• Being committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in a multilingual context

HAND

• Being able to build relationships and communicate effectively with individuals and groups from different language backgrounds
• Being able to identify and challenge linguistic discrimination

Read more in: ‘The Leadership for Multilingualism Framework: What Do We Need to Understand, Believe, and Do to Lead in Multilingual International Schools?‘,