Abstract
School is a turning point for most children—a time when they leave their preschool years and embark on several years of schooling. While this challenges most children, the challenge is greater for children who enter the school system without previous access to the language of education. This is particularly the case for a proportion of Indigenous children across the world. This chapter explores and contextualises the complex range of challenges these children face, discusses solutions and relates them to the chapters which follow.
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Notes
- 1.
In Australia and Canada, these are sometimes referred to as ‘First Nations languages’. In Canada they are also known as ‘Aboriginal languages’. In Australia ‘Aboriginal languages’ refers more specifically to languages spoken on the mainland and Tasmania, excluding languages of the Torres Strait, while ‘Indigenous languages’ includes all these languages.
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Wigglesworth, G., Simpson, J. (2018). Going to School in a Different World. In: Wigglesworth, G., Simpson, J., Vaughan, J. (eds) Language Practices of Indigenous Children and Youth. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60120-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60120-9_1
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