Institute,

Research Group

Institute of Special Needs Education and Rehabilitation,

Department of Heterogeneity and Diversity with special consideration of inclusive educational processes

Research cluster intersectional sensitivity

Since 01.2022

Research assistant and doctoral candidate in the research training group "Teacher Education 2040"

2020-2021: Student assistant at the University of Hamburg

2018-2021: Master's programme "Multilingualism and Education" at the University of Hamburg

2014-2018: Bachelor's degree programme in Childhood Education at the University of Education Freiburg

Teaching activities:

Winter term 2022:

• Lifeworlds and spaces of action. Focus: Migration and diversity

• Special and rehabilitation pedagogy of life stages. Focus: Early childhood

  Summer semester 2022:

• Developmental support and participation. Focus: Intersectional perspectives on development with special consideration of migration and multilingualism

In Germany's migration society, diverse linguistic influences have an impact on pupils' developmental and educational processes. Despite the fact that pupils are increasingly growing up multilingual, this dynamic is not adequately taken into account in teacher training programmes. For example, courses on multilingualism are neither compulsory in teacher training programmes nor available at all universities (Busse 2020). Historically evolved notions of language, which are characterised by power and domination relations, contribute to the perpetuation of the "monolingual habitus" (Gogolin 1994) and are still visible in the sometimes negative convictions of prospective teachers.

The cumulative doctoral project aims to qualitatively record teachers' beliefs about multilingualism at school and to explore them intersectionally. The intersectional analysis of the material makes it possible to investigate the interaction of different social categories as well as power and domination relations and to ask about inclusionary, exclusionary and reproducing effects (Budde 2018; Riegel 2022). The intersectional, deconstructivist perspective on the relations of difference and dominance associated with multilingualism takes a critical-reflexive approach (Riegel 2016). The results will be used to formulate implications for an intersectionally sensitive pedagogical practice that includes a critical reflection of beliefs about multilingualism.

Conference attendance and publications

Publications:

Volknant, S. (2024). Linguistic diversity and epistemic injustice: Intersectional perspectives in teacher education. In Anne Goldbach, Anke Langner, Karin Mannewitz, Saskia Schuppener, Nico Leonhardt (eds.): Power and Knowledge - Critical Reflections in the Context of Inclusion and Exclusion. (S. 130-140). Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt.

Volknant, S., & Licandro, U. (2024). Preparing Teachers for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms-A Systematic Review on Interventions and Intersectional Perspectives. Education Sciences, 14(8), 846.

Conference papers and presentations:

Volknant, S. (2024, January). Intersectional perspectives on multilingualism in teacher education. Presentation as part of the event series "Differenz Bildung Intersektionalität", Department of Pedagogy for Learning Impairments in Schools, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle.

Volknant, S. (2023, September). Intersectional perspectives on linguistic-cultural diversity in teacher education. Poster presentation at the DGfE Section Conference on Special Education Contexts of Power - Critical Reflections on Knowledge Orders, Knowledge Production and Knowledge Transfer, Technische Universität Dresden.

Volknant, S. & Scholz-Wemken, S. (2023, May). Intersectional sensitivity in teacher education. Presentation at the networking conference of the SGBF-AG "Interkulturelle Bildung": Macht- und ungleichheitskritische Perspektiven auf Bildung - Erkenntnisse und Suchbewegungen der empirischen Forschung, Pädagogische Hochschule Zürich.

Volknant, S. (2022, August). Linguistic-cultural diversity from an intersectionally sensitive perspective: Teachers' beliefs and competences. Presentation on the doctoral project as part of the junior researcher workshop at the conference MEHR I SPRACHLICHE I BILDUNG - Sprachliche Vielfalt als Chance und Herausforderung in Bildungskontexten, University of Cologne.

Volknant, S. (2022, June). Linguistic-cultural diversity from an intersectionally sensitive perspective: Teachers' beliefs and competences. Poster presentation at the conference for researchers in qualification phases of the Mercator Institute for Language Development and German as a Second Language, University of Cologne.