Mandarin Chinese community schooling in England: Language, culture and pupils’ identities

This qualitative ethnographic study adopts a social constructionist approach to investigate the significance of Chinese community schooling in the lives of pupils, parents and school staff. The study is important because it challenges homogenous and stereotypical constructions of Chinese language, culture, and identity evident in some previous studies, and promoted in the media. Several key findings emerged from the study. First, pupils and adults understood language learning as the main focus of Chinese community schooling, whether focused on learning Mandarin, or English for Chinese-migrant pupils. Second, pupils and adults valued the role of the school as capital in various forms (i.e., social, economic, and cultural). Third, a contrast emerged between the focus of the schools on Mandarin as dominant Chinese language and the diversity of Chinese languages spoken by pupils and adults (e.g., Hakka and Cantonese). Fourth, pupils valued the transmission of Chinese culture but, unlike the adults, they were interested in its meaning for their family histories and identities rather than in the interiorisation of values. Finally, community schooling played a positive role in pupils' lives as it encouraged them to claim the right to construct their identity as Chinese, regardless of their spoken language(s), their life trajectories, and family background. Overall, this study has shown that Chinese community schools are linguistically and culturally varied spaces where pupils and adults coconstruct concepts of Chinese language and culture that are both informed by their life trajectories and ideologically charged. Furthermore, the schools are spaces that encourage intercultural encounters and, as such, are sites for intercultural awareness and development rather than “ethnic enclaves”. The study provides valuable insights for researchers in the areas of international and intercultural Chinese language education and researching multilingually. Also, the findings offer insights for researchers, educators, policy makers, and the parents and children participating in the life of the schools to better understand the phenomenon of Chinese language community schooling

I was surprised to see you in a Chinese school’: Researching multilingually opportunities and challenges in community-based research

Researchers working in multilingual contexts must draw on their own linguistic resources when conceptualizing, planning, conducting, and reporting their studies, whether for theses or publications, or in dissemination to other stakeholders. However, these multilingual processes have received little attention in previous research. Drawing on an ethnographic study undertaken by Sara Ganassin in Chinese community language education, we investigate what opportunities and challenges a ‘researching multilingually’ perspective offers the researcher. We analyse narrative data and ethnographic observations to illustrate how the researcher drew on her multilingual resources vis-a-vis the linguistic spaces of her research context, the reflexive aspects of her multilingual positionality, and the ethical choices faced by her. From these insights, we make a theoretical and methodological case for embedding a researching multilingually approach in research that recognizes the linguistic resources of the researcher. The study has implications for building researcher capacity in multilingual research contexts, and for highlighting multilingual researcher processes that improve understanding, reporting, and representation of people from diverse linguistic and cultural horizons

Reflexivity as a means to address researcher vulnerabilities

This paper proposes a critical approach and a model based on the construct of a ethics of care to understand researcher vulnerability within contemporary applied linguistics. We emphasise the importance of reflexivity as a practice that foregrounds the humanity of both researchers and participants. In particular, by highlighting the challenges and dilemmas faced by researchers, we advocate for an ethics of care as a guide to address the ethical and practical issues related to researcher vulnerabilities. We discuss how recent shifts in applied linguistics, particularly the reflexive turn, have sharpened the focus on the social and ethical dimensions of research impact, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of generative AI technologies. Our discussion underscores the necessity of acknowledging researchers' own vulnerabilities and the need for systematic and transparent engagement with these challenges to foster well-being and ethical rigour for all in applied linguistics research.</p

Reflexivity as a means to address researcher vulnerabilities

\ua9 2025 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2025.This paper proposes a critical approach and a model based on the construct of a ethics of care to understand researcher vulnerability within contemporary applied linguistics. We emphasise the importance of reflexivity as a practice that foregrounds the humanity of both researchers and participants. In particular, by highlighting the challenges and dilemmas faced by researchers, we advocate for an ethics of care as a guide to address the ethical and practical issues related to researcher vulnerabilities. We discuss how recent shifts in applied linguistics, particularly the reflexive turn, have sharpened the focus on the social and ethical dimensions of research impact, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of generative AI technologies. Our discussion underscores the necessity of acknowledging researchers\u27 own vulnerabilities and the need for systematic and transparent engagement with these challenges to foster well-being and ethical rigour for all in applied linguistics research

Developing intercultural understanding for study abroad: Students' and teachers' perspectives on pre-departure intercultural learning

This study reports on students’ and teachers’ perspectives on a programme designed to develop Erasmus students’ intercultural understanding prior to going abroad. We aimed to understand how students and their teachers perceived pre-departure materials in promoting their awareness of key concepts related to interculturality (e.g., essentialism, stereotyping, otherising) during an intercultural education course for mobile students. Twenty pre-departure Erasmus undergraduate students from an Italian university, four teachers and one observer participated in the study. Seven hours of audio/video recordings of classroom discussions and teachers’ retrospective narratives were analysed thematically. Although students initially subverted the goals of one of the tasks, they demonstrated foundations of intercultural thinking; followed by movement from self-interest to intercultural awareness of the other; and finally, developing intercultural awareness, supported through opportunities to express emotions/feelings and discussion and application of key concepts of interculturality. Teachers’/observer’s perspectives confirmed the quality and flexibility of the materials in developing students’ intercultural awareness. The findings suggest that pre-departure materials can help students to recognise variety and complexity in self and others in intercultural encounters. But students’ primary needs for practical information should first be satisfied; interactive spaces for expressing emotion and feelings are important for understanding self and others; and scaffolding activities help students to understand intercultural concepts

\u27It would be better if you had a UK degree\u27: exploring the experiences of highly-skilled refugee women in the UK

\ua9 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group. This study explores the employment challenges faced by highly-skilled refugee women in the UK, a group often overlooked in research and policy. Despite their qualifications and experience, these women encounter significant personal and structural barriers. Here, we report on nine qualitative interviews with highly-skilled refugee women in the UK. Drawing on thematic analysis, we examine the personal and structural barriers encountered by these women throughout their displacement trajectories, including feelings of inadequacy and systemic inequalities. The lens of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality allows us to unpack the multiple factors that can result in compounded disadvantages for displaced women