PhD study into Flemish secondary school teacher's beliefs and practices regarding multilingualism at school

The research group "Language, education and society" is part of the research unit Linguistics at the Faculty of Arts of KU Leuven. This research group investigates processes of language acquisition (including second and foreign language acquisition), with a specific focus on instructed language acquisition in educational contexts. The research group also investigates the use of language at school, in particular the use of majority and minority languages in Flemish schools. Embedded within this research group, the Centre for Language and Education aims to support primary and secondary school, and institutes for adult education, to offer evidence-informed instruction fostering equity and excellence.
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Project

This PhD project is part of the Pluridentities-project, funded by the European Commission within the Horizon 2024 Framework. The Pluridenties project is coordinated by Free University Brussels, and involves a research-oriented cooperation between KU Leuven, Free University Brussels, University of Amsterdam, University of Cordoba, Goetheborg University, and University of Aruba. Through a mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the Pluridentities project aims to detect effective practices and tools to foster multilingualism at secondary schools, including the heritage languages of pupils belonging to ethno-linguistic minorities. In the PhD study carried out by KU Leuven, the researcher will document Flemish secondary school teachers' beliefs and practices regarding multilingualism at school, and will explore the school-internal and school-external factors that influence those beliefs and practices. The PhD study will start on 1 November 2024 and will take 4 years. 

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Candidates are expected:

- to have obtained a master's degree in linguistics, educational sciences (with a focus on language education), or applied linguistics;

- to have built up expertise and academic knowledge (through following courses or master's thesis) with regard to (second) language acquisition/instruction, and the use of language at school;

- to have expertise with regard to the pedagogy/methodology of language teaching;

- to have a keen interest in matters related to multilingualism in society and at school;

- to have an inquisitive mind and be capable of working in an efficient and well-organised way.

Offer

We offer you:

- the chance to carry out a societally relevant PhD study under the supervision of an expert in the field;

- the opportunity to follow a doctoral training program at the Faculty of Arts;

- a welcoming and inspiring environment (in particular, an office at the Centre for Language and Education, where you will join the group of researchers of that centre);

- an initial contract for 1 year; following a positive assessment at the end of year 1, a contract for another 3 years.

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Kris Van den Branden, tel.: +32 16 32 53 63, mail: kris.vandenbranden@kuleuven.be.

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