Predictors of multilingual classroom practices of German primary teachers

Abstract

Considering the steadily increasing number of multilingual students, it is essential for teachers to consider their students’ multilingualism in school. While there is increasing research done regarding how teachers incorporate multilingualism in class, little is known what aspects predict teachers’ multilingual classroom practices. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine several potential predictors of teachers’ multilingual classroom practices. The analytic sample consisted of N = 494 German primary school teachers. Applying path analyses, we found that teachers’ multilingualism-related beliefs and multilingualism-related self-efficacy correlated with their multilingual classroom practices directly. Furthermore, many indirect effects of demographic and sociocultural characteristics on teachers’ multilingual classroom practices through their multilingualism-related beliefs and multilingualism-related self-efficacy were found. Implications and limitations are discussed.