Sweden and Germany: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Policy Making in the Re-professionalization of International Teachers

Abstract

AbstractFlight has developed into a new research focus worldwide, but, only a few projects are concerned with newly immigrated teachers. Meanwhile, increasing importance is politically assigned to them and their linguistic resources. Despite these expectations, there are hardly any studies that address language diversity in the professional training of immigrant teachers. As a reaction to this lacuna, we have conducted a qualitative study in two countries: Sweden and Germany. These cases are particularly interesting to compare as they approach the re-professionalization of immigrant teachers in very different ways. In Sweden the introductory programs are the result of a political measure (top-down-policy making) and hold no language requirement in Swedish, whereas in Germany these programs are the result of bottom-up initiatives on behalf of universities and academics, which consequently result in a varying dealing with linguistic diversity. The difference in approach is of extreme interest with regard to top-down- and bottom-up processes of language education policy making, as the chapter will explicate with a specific focus on research review thus far. It will then present a qualitative study that focuses on multilingual practices in teacher training. To access this level, interviews were conducted with the respective actors – programme coordinators and lecturers. The results allow deep insights into the process of language policy making and their implementation on the institutional level. Finally, we will discuss the potentials of top-down- and bottom-up approaches and formulate implications for international teacher education.