1
https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2019.4
© 2019 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).
ORBIS SCHOLAE, 2019, 13 (3) 000−000	 EMPIRICAL STUDY
Communication as a Means of Development
in a School with a High Percentage
of Foreign Pupils1
Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
Masaryk University, Faculty of Education
Abstract: The text presented is a case study of one specific school in the Czech
Republic, where many pupils with migrant backgrounds are concentrated. On the theoretical level,
the study is based on experiential epistemology, which emphasizes interactions over the states
and essences of actors or environments. This approach enables researchers to put the Bronfen-
brenner’s model of the ecological system in a broader context of Chicago School (interactions) and
Palo Alto School (communication). Bronfenbrenner’s concept of the mesosystem (in our case of the
school) draw attention to the importance of communication and to specify three significant themes.
The themes detect conditions that support and deepen the self/development of all actors involved
(pupils, teachers, management, parents, etc.). In the methodological part, the themes have used as
the frame for the frame analysis. In this way, the data collected in the school by observations, field
notes, interviews are analysed. Although there are not many such schools like the one the authors
research, they play an essential role in the integration of migrants into Czech society. That is the
reason why the authors can discuss the outcomes of the study in a broader context and offer specific
recommendations for state policies on the migrants’ inclusion.
Keywords: experientialist epistemology, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, mesosystem, communication,
education, inclusion policy, migrants
In this paper we present the results of a case study undertaken at one government
funded school for students aged 6−15 in the Czech Republic. This study focuses primarily
on the first five years of education (age 6−11). Due to the school’s history and
location it has a high concentration (over 60%) of students from different socio-cultural
backgrounds and with different mother tongues.2 This specificity influences
the internal mechanisms and functions that affect the educational processes. Due
to the breadth of the data collected it is not possible to present all the findings in
one paper, therefore we decided to focus primarily on communication and on the
mechanisms and functions that facilitate communication within the school.
We derived the importance of communication from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological
systems theory. The essence of the environmental approach is an emphasis
on interactions between actors within peculiar environment strata (micro/meso/
1	 The study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation through the project Roads Towards
21st Century Inclusive School: An Ethnographic Approach (GA19-13038S).
2	 In this paper, we are using the term foreigners or foreign pupils for migrants, immigrants, incomers,
etc. By the term learner with a different first language, we mean all school-age learners
whose mother tongue is not Czech. In the context of the school, this concerns mainly learners
with foreign citizenship or learners with at least one parent who is a foreign national.
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
2 macro-levels). By communication we do not just mean the exchange of information
through language. We perceive communication in a broad sense, as an exchange
of information as well as materials leading to a structuring or restructuring of the
milieu in which actors live. Before we describe the theoretical background, it is
important to understand the specific context of the school in terms of Czechia and
the city where the school is located.
1 The context
The Czech Republic is seeing a steady increase in the number of foreign residents.
In 1980s, the number of foreigners in Czechoslovakia was constant and showed
a negative net migration rate. In 1990, just after the fall of Communism, the total
percentage of foreigners in the country was a mere 0.3%. Following the opening up
of the Czech economy and entry to the EU in 2004, by 2015 the percentage had risen
to 4.3%, which is the same percentage recorded in countries such the Netherlands
and Portugal. More recently figures have risen even more sharply. As of December
2018, there were a total of 566,931 foreigners in the Czech Republic, which is 7%
more than at the end of 2017.3 Foreigners now make up approximately 5% of the
total population of the Czech Republic.
The right to education is one of the fundamental human rights that belong to all
children regardless of difference. Providing compulsory schooling for children with
a migration background4 is part of Czech legislation and is in accordance with international
agreements to which the Czech Republic is a signatory. This means that
migrant children are entitled to the same basic education as Czech children because
education is mandatory for everyone. However, the Czech education system leaves
much to be desired when it comes to catering to the educational needs of foreign
pupils and many features are lacking when compared to systems from abroad (Hamilton
& Moore, 2004, pp. 2−7). For example, there is no official language support to
help with interpretation for parents, there are a lack of the teaching assistants and
intercultural workers and there are minimal additional language courses available.
Due to structural conditions and historical circumstances, children of foreigners
are concentrated in a few schools throughout the Czech Republic, usually in large cities.
These schools are independent of each other and therefore each of them creates
an entirely original mesosystem with different approaches to communication.
The city is located in one of the most important migrant destinations in the
country. In 2018 it recorded 32,000 foreigners living there, most of whom were from
countries outside of the EU. The largest groups of migrants were from Ukraine,
Slovakia, Vietnam and Russia and this distribution corresponds with statistics at
3	 Czech Statistical Office (2019). Data − number of foreigners. Available from: https://www.czso
.cz/csu/cizinci/4-ciz_pocet_cizincu#cr
4	 In the frame of the Czech law, most of these children are long term or permanent residents; they
are not considered citizens of the Czech Republic.
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
3a national level. Foreigners are motivated to migrate to the Czech Republic mainly
by the job market and an open tertiary education system, which is not only of high
quality but also affordable.
The school that we focused on is located in a city where 1,034 foreign pupils were
enrolled in schools (age range 6−15) in 2017/18, which amounts to approximately 3%
of all primary school pupils aged 6−11. The majority of foreign pupils (65%) attending
schools in the city are within the 6−11 range.
In 2018 the school had 214 pupils from foreign countries, which amounted to
67% of the total number of students. This situation is the product of several factors
that culminated in close cooperation of the school mesosystem with other systems
that directly influence the schooling of learners from foreign countries. In 2005
the number of children living in the school’s locality or ‘catchment area’ began to
decrease and the school was in danger of being closed down. Following negotiations
with the Mayor of the city and the Education Department of the Regional Authority
(which coordinates the schooling of children of foreign nationals), the principal was
able to secure a grant from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (henceforth
the Ministry) to support the teaching of Czech to citizens of third countries. The
school therefore began teaching children of foreigners regardless of the location of
their home or whether they were in the school’s ‘catchment area’. Schools from
other parts of the city then responded to the school accepting foreign pupils from
outside of its ‘catchment area’. “[T]hey have facilities for you at XY, courses, you
should go there. They are recommending us, so that’s OK.” The school has been
cooperating with the Regional Authority on teaching Czech to learners from third
countries.5 It also collaborates with the Education Department of the City Hall and
non-profit organisations. Cooperation with these institutions does not only revolve
around learners with a different first language, but focuses on teaching all learners
with specific learning needs, or on the implementation of cross-cutting themes of
the school educational programme.
2 Theoretical framework: Bronfenbrenner’s human
ecology theory and communication
We are using Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory as the base for our
theoretical framework. At the heart of this approach is the effort to find a research
model that would allow a shifting of the focus from the actors (persons, institutions)
to the interactions between them and especially to the quality of their transformation
(their development). Ontologically speaking, this shift represents a broader
paradigmatic shift from essentialism or objective realism to processualism or experientialist
realism (Lakoff, 1987; Johnson, 2007). Experientialist realism enables us
5	 We consider a third-country citizen to be a person who is not a citizen of the Czech Republic,
nor any other EU member state, nor is the family member of a citizen of the Czech Republic or
an EU member state.
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
4 to concentrate on the relations and transactions amongst actors and between actors
and their environment without the prejudices of objectivism. Objectivism favours
states and essences and examines them as though these states and essences have
not undergone constant change and reconstruction. On the contrary, experientialism
assumes that everything is in continuous evolution and that states and essences are
only temporary platforms that shape the time-limited situations in which the actors
find themselves and act (Dewey, 1939; Dewey & Bentley, 1949; Johnson 2007).
This paradigmatic change is beneficial for us for two reasons: Firstly, it is more
suited in the nature of social science research, and secondly, it allows us to perceive
communication as being central to interactions. Communication intensifies the interactions
and possible changes and adaptations. In the concept of communication, we
are inspired by the tradition of the Chicago School (Mead, Dewey, and their contemporary
followers, e.g. M. Johnson and G. Lakoff). This tradition sees all interactions
as events that gain meaning in communication through an exchange of symbols.
Communication is primarily a social issue. In Dewey’s words it is, contrary to animal
actions, not “ego-centric” but “participative”, allowing actions to be governed by
the exchange of tokens. Symbols define events and enable the sharing of their meanings.
Thanks to the control of actions by communication, we can change both the
subsequent steps of the actors and their environment (Dewey, 1958, pp. 166−207).
Therefore, communication “is a means of establishing cooperation, domination and
order” (ibid., s. 202). Restoration of order creates dynamic homeostasis that enables
actors to act deliberately and negotiate common goals and then achieve them. 
If we wish to divert our research from examining the states and essences of
the actors, institutions and environment, and instead emphasize the interactions,
processes, and changes that affect the quality of development, we must seek new
methodological tools. Bronfenbrenner’s approach is one of the ways we can implement
the introduced ontological base into a specific type of human sciences research.
Although Bronfenbrenner does not directly refer to the ideas of the Chicago
school, there are occasional references to Dewey’s thoughts on education (e.g.,
Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 23; Hayes, O’Toole, & Halpenny, 2017, p. 152). Nonetheless,
his approach is in accord with the main ideas of the School. In the thoughts of
the School, as well as in the Bronfenbrenner approach, interactions are a crucial
concept. For example, primary dyads (the most straightforward interactions between
two actors) and molar activities (conduct which is of such a nature that any
development takes place during it − cf. ibid., pp. 45−48, 58−60), in the ecological
approach, are the base of all other operations leading to development. The base is
created neither by actors as such nor by settings, but by interactions. Interactions
intensify communication amongst actors and re/construct roles they are required
to play. Communication and roles influence their personalities. The quality of these
factors enables or slows down their development. The quality of the interactions
therefore strongly influences the possibilities in which the actors may develop. This
is the reason why Bronfenbrenner concentrates primarily on interactions and not on
essences, truths or fixed qualities. 
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
5Systems of overlapping interactions are the basis of social platforms − the socalled
settings. Settings are constructed via the activity of participants and depending
on their location, they can constitute microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems,
and macrosystems (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, pp. 22−27). Every activity, actor, or relationship
is therefore nested in many levels. A pupil can be a member of microsys-
tems − family, close friends, school clubs, etc, as well as mesosystems − school, peer
groups, or the cultural communities from which the pupil’s family comes. However
the pupil is also indirectly affected by exosystems, e.g. a system of experts engaged
in a dialogue in favour of or against inclusion, and even by the macrosystems of the
educational, cultural and social policies of the host country or international legislation
that pertains to the status of foreigners. The pupil’s development is determined
by the configuration of relationships at all levels.
The notion of meso-level is key to our study, as it best describes school as a specific
organisation where most of the pupils’ education takes place. Moreover, it has significance
in more general terms, since the meso-level is where the greatest shifts in
each participant’s developmental potential occur. Bronfenbrenner primarily relates
human development to a mesosystem (ibid., pp. 209−236). A mesosystem emerges
where the molar activities of individuals and whole groups cross their boundaries
into multisetting participation. This creates a new situation − a meso-level setting,
which hosts participants who are also active in various micro-level settings. This new
setting requires coordination of the original and the new roles, with communication
between settings and a new quality of experience. The individual crosses the boundaries
of microsystems and is forced to assume roles in a more complex arena. They
must adjust to more indirect linkage. Indirect linkage means that new actors bring
the horizons of their microsystems into other participants’ field of operation and
indirectly expose them to the demands of unfamiliar settings. Each pupil therefore
brings into the classroom (microsystem) and school (mesosystem) the values, attitudes
and habits that they acquired in the family, in various clubs, during telephone
calls with grandparents, etc. And in this way, values, attitudes and habits are brought
into the system of the school by teachers and other actors. This developmental
niche is described in detail by Harkness and Super (2002, pp. 272−273). Intersetting
communication becomes denser and creates a new, specific type of knowledge − intersetting
knowledge (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, pp. 209−211). 
A child’s transition (Dockett, Perry, & Kearney, 2012, pp. 59−60) from the original
microsystem into the mesosystem progresses from primary socialisation towards
secondary socialisation. This transition has a critical potential, in that there are two
kinds of complications. The mesosystem is affected by microsystems, as actors who
shape the mesosystem carry on to a higher level the habits and expectations that
they acquired at a lower level. Within education, the values, attitudes and habits
of families, social groups, peer groups and other microsystems enter the school
environment and the school must respond to them constantly. However, the claims
of the microsystems they place on their members can be questioned. Some determining
values, attitudes and habits, which are crucial for the given microsystems,
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
6 may conflict with the values, attitudes and habits of a mesosystem (e.g. the school).
This complex situation places great demands on both the individual actors and
the settings at all levels (micro/meso/macro-levels), making communication that
much more important. The ecological principle operates on the basis of perpetual
fine-tuning, or achieving a dynamic (homeostatic) equilibrium (Damasio, 2018).
The increase in the complexity of mesosystem situations in turn multiplies and
complicates interactions and raises the difficulty of coping with any given situation.
The mesosystem exposes individuals to unprecedented diversity and intensifies the
requirements for understanding and managing diversity. This makes the mesosystem
crucial for human development. Bronfenbrenner defines human development as
follows:
The process through which the growing person acquires a more extended differentiated,
and valid conception of the ecological environment, and becomes motivated and
able to engage in activities that reveal the properties of, sustain, or restructure that
environment at levels of similar or greater complexity in form and content (Bronfenbrenner,
1979, p. 27).
This development has two-fold manifestations − in the perception of the situation
and of the acting within it. A developing individual is able to perceive contexts that
go beyond the boundaries of a certain situations and following a successful understanding
of the situation, can act at various levels (micro, meso, and macro) with
a greater complexity and success (cf. Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p. 28). For “situation”
as a crucial term for the experientialist epistemology, compare Švec, Nehyba, Svojanovský
et al. (2017, pp. 47−52).
Bronfenbrenner (1979, pp. 211−242) developed 17 hypotheses which determine
the ideal conditions for an individual’s development at the meso-level. He indicates
that these hypotheses are derived from previously conducted investigations, based
on which prescriptive definitions of processes were formulated. They are therefore
definitions or hypotheses of sorts, which stipulate the conditions under which the
development of each actor participating in the mesosystem progresses the best. This
way of constructing an ideal model prompts researchers to employ abductive reasoning
during their research. Besides other things, abduction means that researchers
do not use the ideal model as a fixed measure of the right or wrong configuration
of the real processes within a mesosystem. When they discover that some of the
properties of the ideal model need to be modified, they will modify them. 
We had to do such modification when moving from an idea of an operational
language as a key term for this paper to an idea of a field of mutual understanding.
By operating language, we meant a language in which we achieve, exclusively or
at least dominantly, mutual understanding, and in which teaching takes place. We
continue to work with this definition. However, we found that there are several
operating languages in our ethnically, religiously, and nationally diverse school −
Czech, English, Ukrainian and Russian. These languages are switched according
to situation. For instance, a teacher tries to teach in Czech, but if a learner fails
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
7to grasp a key piece of instruction even after several repetitions, she will briefly
switch to English and then return back to Czech. Most of the time, the teachers use
Czech to speak with the children, but when communicating with parents, they need
to find another common language. The presence of several operating languages
poses the question of how one can reach understanding while switching from one
language to another or how it is possible to translate one language to another when
few actors know both or more languages. This is why we needed to define a broader
environment that would allow us to explain how to switch from one language to
another while creating a common understanding. In this situation, we, as researchers,
realized that we had to look for a common denominator, which, in addition
to the operating languages, has other elements that allow translations from one
language to another. Thus gradually, the idea of the field of mutual understanding
began to emerge. Finally, we realized that this concept is more consistent with
situational ontology and the epistemology of experientialist realism. (For more on
this concept, see the following paragraphs.)
We chose those Bronfenbrenner’s hypotheses which are relevant to the circumstances
of educating learners with a different cultural and language background.
The developmental potential of settings in a mesosystem is enhanced when the
demands placed on roles within the different settings are compatible and when
the roles, activities, and dyads in which the developing person engages encourage
the development of mutual trust, a positive orientation, goal consensus between
settings, and an evolving balance of power in favour of the developing person. When
there are structurally different settings in which the developing person participates
in a variety of joint activities and primary dyads with others, particularly when
the others are more mature or experienced. When the settings occur in cultural or
subcultural contexts that are different from each other in terms of ethnicity, social
class, religion, age group, or other background factors. When the system supports
trans-contextual dyads6 that cross the boundaries of various settings. When there
are so-called supportive links between one setting and others.7 When there are
indirect links between settings that support the same goals as the supportive links.
When two-way communication between settings occurs with ease, during which
the inclusion of the family in the communications network is key. When, prior to
entering a setting, the actors receive relevant information, when this information
is continuously accessible in other settings, when this information is as personal as
possible (face-to-face conversation, personal letter, telephone call, announcement).
We included one more element or hypothesis into this description of the
meso-level, one which Bronfenbrenner’s hypotheses, though implied, do not mention
explicitly. From a certain level of interaction, the participants of individual
6	 Bronfenbrenner’s trans-contextual dyad is a system of interaction between at least two actors
acting within one setting that enters into a new setting; e.g. friends who start school together,
friends who emigrate together and apply for asylum together, etc.
7	 A supportive link is such a link between settings that ensures that the same activities, their goal
and focus, are supported within all the settings involved (cf. Ibid., p. 214).
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
8 scenes cannot do without long-distance communication,8 and interactions that are
coordinated and carried out in a field of mutual understanding. The results of our
research show us how important it is to define a language/s in which all actors share
a common understanding and can act meaningfully, intentionally, and in accord with
other actors. Following the Chicago School tradition mentioned above and the Palo
Alto School, we understand such a language/s more comprehensively as a complex
field in which mutual understanding takes place. We are inspired by the work of
Watzlawick and his colleagues. Moving the focus of our interest from the family as
a field of understanding (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1962, pp. 134−147) to the
school as a more complex field, we enter an environment where understanding is
more challenging to achieve. This field evaluates both the verbal and non-verbal
components of the different languages and the characteristics of the environment
in which interactions occur − such as properties of physical objects, negotiated
standards, spoken or unspoken rules etc. The higher the number of different mother
tongues or operating languages in a given milieu (in this case, our school), the more
important environmental characteristics become.
In an ideal scenario, there would be an operating language that is understandable
to all participants of the scene as well as scenes directly or indirectly linked with the
central scene (in our case, the meso-level of a school). However, these circumstances
cannot be met, even in a linguistically and culturally homogeneous class. There
are so many differences amongst habits, ways of acting, expectations or values,
which the actors bring from their microsystems (in our case, e.g. from their families
or neighborhoods) and these factors affect the quality of the operating language,
splitting it into several different forms, which need to be translated to be mutually
intelligible. Therefore, one operating language is not a sufficient condition for the
interactions to be of adequate quality and to lead to the successful development of
all actors in the mesosystem. In such cases, it is necessary to create an environment
in which all actors can translate and then understand different expectations and
conduct. Those features of the environment that are not strictly tied to language
and cultural heritage are essential in seeking translation and understanding. The
material characteristics of the environment, the standards that the school presents
and further negotiates, the principles and rules, the consequences of our actions,
etc., become such a means of understanding. In the case of a multilingual and
multicultural school or class, building such an environment is even more critical.
In such classes, there may be a situation where there are more than one operating
languages. For example, the teacher speaks to some of the pupils in Czech and to
some in English and to some of the parents in another language). This type of situation
can deepen cultural differences even more and therefore the existence of these
elements in the environment, rules and norms is becoming crucial. 
The availability of one operating language in the school is highly unlikely. This is
why our research recognizes the key role of strategies that allow the school to re-
8	 For more on the significance of long-distance communication in modern societies, see (Noiriel,
2012).
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
9spond to the need to communicate in cases where virtually no shared communication
language is available. Strategies which enable several communication languages to
overlap and facilitate information transfer. It is this respect for the role of a field of
mutual understanding that we identify the following three research themes:
Theme 1 − Continuous communication as the central value of the school
Theme 2 − Communication as interactions amongst microsystem, mesosystem,
and macrosystem
Theme 3 − The field of mutual understanding in relation to operating languages
3 Methodological framework
We decided to use a case study approach as the research strategy since the school
we focused on has specific features which can help us understand the processes of
inclusion of children with a migration background to the Czech education system
(e.g. Yin, 2012, pp. 141−155). Based on Bronfenbrennner’s approach, we can more
easily demonstrate how the dynamics of interactions between microsystems and the
mesosystem is going on. The obtained data was analysed using framework analysis.
The use of framework analysis was based on the fact as researchers we are able
to gather and sort in a meaningful way the collected data and subsequently articulate
and map the phenomenon under investigation (Srivastava & Thomson, 2009,
pp. 75−76).
3.1 The frame for analysis
In the following paragraphs, we define the three themes that characterize the phenomenon.
These themes were derived from the Bronfenbrenner’s 17 hypotheses
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979, pp. 211−242) and our concepts of the operating language
and the field of mutual understanding which complement Bronfenbrenner. Focusing
on the themes helps us to structure the phenomenon and focus on the data that
articulates the phenomenon.
Theme 1 − continuous communication as the central value of the school. The central
value of an ideal school is continuous communication. Communication focuses
mainly on the sharing of information, articulating of personal, group, and institutional
needs and goals, negotiating common goals, and negotiating joint activities
to achieve those goals. This theme is articulated by questions such as: What value
does the school ascribe to communication? What communication strategies can the
school use to learn about the goals and needs of individuals and microsystems? What
communication strategies does the school use and negotiate to articulate these goals
and needs?
Theme 2 − Communication as interactions amongst microsystem, mesosystem,
and macrosystem. Communication enables actors to achieve what Bronfenbrenner
called multisetting participation. This means the ability to emerge from microOS
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
10 systems to mesosystems and work in both without collisions. This ability is met
by coordinating micro-level interests with meso-level interests. The majority of
communication on the meso-level takes place over distance (via documents, rules,
norms, email or postal correspondence) and quality of this remote communication
facilitates indirect linkage with other parts of the system (microsystems, exosystems,
macrosystem). Questions relevant to the restructuring of the second theme
are, for example: In what ways does the school coordinate and balance the interests
of microsystems and macrosystems? How does the school establish communication
between microsystem settings? Are these techniques conducive to the participation
of all individuals in joint activities in different settings? Are there any limitations in
the microsystems that prevent pupils from joining in activities in different settings
and what is the school doing to reduce these limitations?
Theme 3 − the field of mutual understanding in relation to operating languages.
A crucial condition for the smooth flow of communication is the blending of different
operating languages, which bond together all the settings that make up the
mesosystem (directly or indirectly) and which make it easier for an individual to
be engaged in the mesosystem’s functioning. In order to make flexible use of operating
languages, it is necessary to use other elements that are part of this field of
understanding − the properties of physical objects, negotiated standards, spoken
or unspoken rules etc. This theme is articulated by questions such as: What are the
operating languages that are important for communication in the mesosystem? Are
these languages available and usable in all settings at the micro-level and other
meso-levels linked with the school? What strategies can the school use to remove
barriers that prevent communication in all the given settings? How does it convey the
requirements of the macrosystem to those actors who cannot access this information
in the operating language?
3.2 Methods of collecting data
Our dataset consisted of notes taken during observations of 25 lessons in the autumn
of 2018. We also conducted several interviews with the school principal, school
counsellor and teachers of both primary and lower secondary level teachers (the
6−11 and 11−15 age groups). Lastly, we obtained a sample of information from focus
groups with teachers across all years. The school psychologist was also present. In
total, we obtained 320 minutes of sound recordings, whose detailed transcription
underwent frame analysis, during which we were constantly reflecting upon each
frame theme.
4 Results
We present the results in the order of three previously defined themes.
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
114.1 Continuous communication as the central value
of the school
The first area concerns general communication strategies that the institution employs
internally as well as outwardly. 
Communication becomes important even before a pupil enters the school. When
a new pupil is being integrated into the education process, the school follows a proven
procedure. The school management (mostly the principal or their deputy) take
the necessary administrative steps, learning as much as they can about the chil-
d’s learning history and based on his or her language competence, and enrolls the
pupil in the year corresponding to his or her age, or one year lower (with consent
of the child’s legal representative). Research from abroad (see Appa, 2005; Cassity
& Gow, 2005, pp. 51−55) highlights the importance of accessing information about
the child prior to his or her enrolment in a new school if better and more sensitive
care is to be provided. The school investigated employed a special communication
assistant to help the new learners and their parents adjust to the new school. The
communication assistant had a high language proficiency and helped foreign parents
register their child into the school and with other educational administration where
the Czech language is necessary. The communication assistant is at hand mainly
to the principal, helping with emails and written correspondence with parents, as
the principal is not language qualified. It is interesting how the role of the communication
assistant has transformed since it was introduced to the school in 2014.
Originally the communication assistant was hired to help cope with an increased
administrative load. The role changed when the number of foreign pupils began
to increase and typically, their number does not increase only at the beginning of
the school year, but also throughout the whole year. Other teachers usually do not
use the communication assistant’s linguistic abilities because they are not always
available. “She’s too far for us on the second floor, so we usually discuss translations
with the psychologist or the English teachers.”
As the school has a significant culturally diverse student base it appears to make
an effort to foster maximum respect for cultural differences. For many children with
different mother tongues, the primary goal is to learn the language, but experts also
point out that it is essential to pay attention to other needs, including knowledge of
one’s own cultural identity (Sidhu & Taylor, 2007, pp. 283−300). When we encounter
a different culture, we can attribute different meanings to some behaviours. Intercultural
sensitivity is of great importance when communicating with one another,
which places demands on the reflection of possible misunderstandings arising from
otherness and efforts to prevent them. The teachers are used to certain specifics
that originate from certain religious traditions and as long as other participants of
the educational process are not inconvenienced by this, they facilitate these differences
(pursuant to agreement with the management). For instance, if a religious
practice disallows some children from drawing or singing, the teachers assign them
alternative activities. The teachers are mindful of national, ethnic and religious difOS
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
12 ferences during normal teaching as well. In this context, we can suggest that there is
a high level of intercultural sensitivity (Bennett, 2013) within the teaching workforce
which is necessary for further communication in the classroom and avoidance of the
misunderstanding. We heard pupils from different countries sing their respective folk
songs during a lesson on local folklore. The children talk freely about the features
of their original countries and culture. The school holds an annual running contest
in which pupils of different nationalities race each other around the school. Otherness
is perceived as a natural fact as a teacher says: “It’s so varied here; we have
a Roma, an African, an American, Argentinian, Indian, etc. Nobody cares if there is
a Roma kid sitting here or not. No one’s bothered.” It may seem that reinforcing an
individual’s own ethnic or religious identity might clash with the main goal of the
school − for example to emancipate the individual and empower him or her toward
responsible behaviour. However, in this context the idea of identity has two facets.
This approach is in keeping with contemporary social and developmental theories
(Erikson & Erikson, 1997; Feuerstein, Feuerstein, & Falik, 2010). Recognising and
accepting one’s own identity is a prerequisite for constructing a positive and anxiety-free
relationship towards the identities of others, which applies to intimate
partner relationships and identities of broader groups alike. In the broadest terms
for the whole of society human, universal rights for all are what matters most, and
one pathway towards gaining this might be having a good knowledge of one’s own
identity. This makes it possible for each of us to properly understand what makes us
different and what may provoke criticism from others and make them see us as less
equal. “The greatest good [gained from knowing one’s identity] is not the development
and respect for a special group culture, but non-discrimination, equal rights,
truly equal opportunities” (Barša, 2011, p. 104).
The contact between teachers and parents is intensive, but also governed by
certain rules. At the primary level (age 6 to 11) teachers encounter parents on an
informal basis almost daily when the children arrive to or leave the classroom and
have an opportunity to discuss needs individually. When necessary, pupils take home
written messages for parents in their journals or notebooks in an appropriate language.
Parents are invited to parent/teacher meetings and in some cases to private
consultations, but always by invitation or appointment. An interviewee’s experience
suggests, and the international research supports (Epstein, 2018, pp. 397−406), that
the children of parents who communicate with the school regularly and actively,
tend to perform better. “Some parents are proactive, they want to know, and then
you can see that they really work on it with the child. They want to know if there is
a problem, what sort of problem it is, and then try to remedy it.” We consider this
observation to be crucial because it is helpful for teachers as well. The knowledge
that frequent communication with parents has a direct benefit for the child helps
them overcome awkward moments of misunderstanding that occasionally arise with
some parents.
However, during observations at the school we were informed that any unannounced
visit from parents presents a security problem as in common in all Czech
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
13schools. Families immigrating to the Czech Republic from a different country often
have a radically different experience with schooling, as illustrated by an interviewed
teacher “it can be difficult talking to some children or parents; some have a completely
different idea of some things, like coming to school prepared. (…) The parents
must trust the teacher.” The school needs to step forward and involve the parents in
the functioning of the school. Teachers and the management have several means
available (consultations, extracurricular events, parent/teacher meetings etc.) and
given the local cultural customs, this should not present any cultural barrier. Hek
(2005, pp. 157−171) states that if parents feel welcome in the school, it will positively
affect the learners and improve their performance as well.
The school also holds community events for pupils and their parents several times
a year outside of the regular teaching day. However, these events do not always fulfil
their purpose, i.e. to bring all parents together. Sometimes only one of the ethnic
groups from the school attends the events, or parents form groups according to their
native language during the event. “Czech parents often just drop off their children
and leave.” For instance, at the last event held by the school (Halloween), Indian
parents formed their own temporary community and communicated only among
themselves.
4.2 Communication as interactions amongst microsystem,
mesosystem and macrosystem
The second theme observes the means of communication both within the school and
outside it and describes the trans-mesosystemic links that affect the school. These
include relations with institutions or specific means of communication between mesosystems
in the school (e.g. teachers, parents, class, language communities, etc.).
The teachers do not want the public to see their school as a school for foreigners.
They believe such “pigeonholing” would provoke undesirable public opinion
and Czech parents would stop registering their children in the school, preventing
the learners with a different first language from hearing natively-spoken Czech,
which the teachers stated that they rely on the Czech children for. “We want to
be a school for Czechs that can teach foreigners as well.” The teachers and the
school counsellor claim that “an easy to manage” number of learners with a different
first language is 25−30%. However, the principal stated: “I’d like to stick to
fifty percent, but it’s true that two thirds are coming here from different parts of
the city.” It appears that principals of other schools in the city, as well as other
non-Czech parents, want to send their existing pupils or children to the school due
to the school’s reputation. They are asking for children to be enrolled even if language
isn’t a barrier and instead it might be children who are merely encountering
initial study problems, which tend to stem from behavioural issues, adjusting to the
new environment and problems with the learning process. The school’s principal
has to accept these applicants, as if there is capacity in the school, they cannot
legally turn them down.
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
14 Teaching at this school is without a doubt very difficult. However, teachers can
rely on the support of their colleagues. “Luckily, at least we who teach grades one
to five (I can’t speak for the rest, I don’t know all the details), have a great team
here, so we can always get help or advice.” The school management works hard to
build good relationships with and within the staff, which also affects the hiring of
new employees, who have to fit in well with the others. Their financial motivation
can also be increased by means of the many projects the school is involved in. However,
this also means that the teachers have to cope with a larger administrative
load. The principal gives all of the teachers enough freedom and has confidence in
their teaching skills. They do not stand in the way of their using alternative methods
(e.g. techniques of the Dalton plan), every teacher chooses the classroom layout for
their lessons, they have no trouble obtaining funds for additional training, etc. Their
job satisfaction and contentment can also be seen in the fact that virtually none of
them resign their position, with teachers only leaving the school when they retire
or start maternity leave. Staff fluctuations are generally very low there.
The teaching is made easier when the children of foreigners attend Czech preschool.
In 2018 the school also organised a preliminary class, in which there were 6 learners
with a different first language out of a total of 15. Primary-level teachers mentioned
the benefit of preschool or the preliminary year on several occasions, however, most
children arrive throughout the year from a primary school in a different country.
Another mesosystem that interacts with the school consists of secondary schools
and the system of admissions. The teachers and the school psychologist have a tendency
to recommend less difficult fields and caution the pupils against studying at
gymnasiums (academic-oriented secondary schools), which they defend by referring
to language barriers in academic terminology (this will be discussed in more detail
in the third theme). 
The school’s mesosystem contains a number of interlinked microsystems, which
make up a fluid whole. We can illustrate this fluidity using the example of a newly
arriving pupil and their integration in the class. We understand integration in terms
of Berry’s (2006, pp. 27−42) adaptation strategies; i.e. as an ideal way of fitting into
the host society, in which the minority retains its original identity while simultaneously
adopting the identity of the host culture. According to Montgomery (1996,
pp. 679−702), the psychological and social adaptation of children with a different
first language is influenced by the age of the child, size of the town where the family
has settled, any traumas the child may have suffered and their level of education.
According to an interviewed teacher when a new pupil arrives, the mutual adjustment
between them and the rest of the class, combined with the family environment,
is critical. Knowledge of the curriculum comes last. The socialisation of the newly
arrived child is therefore superior to all other learning goals. “If there’s anyone with
the same native language, they can surely be a kind of guide at the beginning …” The
positive influence of peer mentoring programmes9 and the preparation of the class
9	 Which means the support of the experienced classmate in the beginning of the school atten-
dance.
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
15team for the arrival of a new classmate is also evidenced by other authors (MacCullum,
2009, pp. 3−4). Taking into account the individuality of each child, integration into
the school team must take place in the context of all the specifics of the child, family
and school. Only after all circumstances have been taken into account can we speak
of achieving a homeostatic balance.
4.3 The field of mutual understanding in relation
to operating languages
In this ethnically, religiously and nationally diverse school we noticed several operating
languages used for communication − Czech, English, Ukrainian and Russian.
These languages are switched according to situation. For instance, a teacher tries
to teach in Czech, but if a learner fails to grasp a key piece of instruction even
after several repetitions, she will briefly switch to English and then returns back
to Czech. Most of the time, the teachers use Czech to speak with the children, but
when communicating with parents, they need to find another common language.
Not only does it emerge where the other languages overlap, but it also puts greater
emphasis on the non-verbal aspect and the aspect of codified rules and behaviours
that ensue. It has also been shown that in the case of transition from one operating
language to another, other environmental features that facilitate understanding
become more critical.
We observed especially that younger children can easily establish social contact
in spite of the lack of a common verbal language. Their openness and spontaneity
is much more effective. One of teachers put it: “They’re friends, even when they
can’t understand each other yet, they’re just friends. You’d have to see it. They play
games like normal during the break, like ‘pairs’ and such.” We noticed that the more
experienced teachers speak in a very calm and slow voice, annunciating clearly and
trying to be a good speech model for their learners. They also explain the meaning
of many words, concrete or abstract, repeating them several times in several ways
to improve the chances of understanding as much as possible. One of the teachers
commented on the importance of rules: “Most important is probably to always try
to find common language. And I don’t mean language for talking. If you want the
children to be in a calm space, there must be rules, dignity, discipline … And then,
when there’s a pleasant positive atmosphere, where the children follow the rules,
you can start teaching … The parents must have trust that the teachers know what
they are doing …” Basic agreement on rules to observe can prevent many conflicts
caused by misunderstandings that may occur when communication takes place in several
operating languages. This is how the basic core (non-verbal and paralinguistic
components and an emphasis on common rules) is formed and effectively takes over
the functions of an operating language. The individual languages (Czech, English,
Ukrainian …) appear to be essential facets of something more primary − the field of
mutual understanding.
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
16 The task of this school is to develop language skills mainly in Czech. Research
shows (Cummins, 1984, 2000) that people use two types of language at school: communication
language (for everyday conversation during breaks, in changing rooms,
during lunch, group work, etc.) and academic language (understanding terminology,
sorting information, reading textbooks, writing assignments, taking notes, testing).
Both these languages have their rules and specifics. Communication language is
often based on the context of the situation, is less grammatically complex, and is
therefore easier to master. The counsellor who is in charge of solving educational
problems noted that “during breaks our children speak (…) what we call breaktime
Czech”. While important for successfully passing examination at various levels, the
ability to read complex texts that feature unknown cultural details and use academic
terminology, is difficult to acquire for learners with a different mother tongue.
Generally speaking, children who are learning Czech as a second language, can hold
a fluent conversation after two to three years of study, depending on how different
their first language is (other theories say six months to two years). However, it takes
them five to seven years, even ten in some cases, before they have caught up with
their schoolmates in academic language (Cummins, 2000). It can be assumed that in
the school discussed here, given its high degree of language heterogeneity and the
fact that pupils with a different first language make up almost two thirds of all children,
acquiring Czech by osmosis will take longer. We observed that the pupils often
seek friends with the same mother tongue. When the learners achieve a sufficient
level of academic language, they often leave the school, mostly because of a long
commute, and start attending a school nearer their home. However, some remain
because of the ties they made and because they are familiar with the system. “I call
them ‘acting as Czechs,’ those who stay and speak well. Many of the foreign children
look up to those who learned better and faster.”
When differentiating between communication and academic language it is necessary
to mention the complications that may arise in later years. Children who
seem well adapted, i.e. with a good command of the communication language
acquired during preschool or early years of school, may encounter difficulties with
academic language, which becomes more difficult when the learning content advances
during later school years. Proficiency in academic language strongly limits the
choice of secondary school. Even during professional aptitude tests administered
by the school psychologist, many of the children score poorly in verbal tasks (their
results correspond to reduced IQ). These results are part of the reason why it is
recommended for the children to pursue less difficult secondary schools, mostly
vocational schools.
Mastery of Czech thus strongly determines the pupils’ future education career.
Both the teachers and management are well aware of this. The school offers several
ways of boosting progress in the language. The teachers are also aware of the
limitations of the existing system, “We’re having Czech for the whole class and it
is actually a foreign language for the kids; often even English isn’t as foreign as
Czech, which we would need to split into groups.” This claim is logical as there can
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
17be learners of several levels of language proficiency present in the lesson, making its
preparation and execution more difficult. At present, the school offers the following
assistance to learners with a different first language:
1. Group courses of Czech for complete beginners (A0−A1 proficiency). They take place
in the morning, which means the learner misses certain regular lessons (typically subjects
that require a high level of comprehension, which the child may still lack) − a separate
model (Eurydice, 2004).
2. Group courses of Czech taking place in the afternoon in collaboration with the Regional
Centre for the Support of the Integration of Foreigners.
3. One-to-one tutoring in subjects with which the learners need help (in learners with
a different first language, this means lessons of Czech) in collaboration with City Hall.
Although the pupils receive intensive language support, it is hindered by some
limitations as a result of the way the macrosystem is set up. For instance, there is
the inconvenient fact that the morning courses are funded by the Ministry on a calendar-year
basis and do not follow the school year. This means that every year the
management has no guarantee of knowing whether their grant application will be
approved and therefore the courses are not taught in January and February due to
a lack of funding.
5 Discussion and conclusion
Our findings relate to one particular school, which in the last ten years has become
a school in which the number of pupils from families with a migrant background predominates.
As a result, a school that wanted to be inclusive became a school where
the importance of Czech as the main operational language is significantly weakened.
This places increased demands on actors and forces them to create a more
sophisticated environment in which mutual understanding can be achieved despite
all obstacles. To understand this correctly, we introduced the concept of mutual
understanding and based on this concept and the 17 hypotheses of Bronfenbrenner,
we defined three themes that became the basis for the framework analysis.
In the first theme, while discussing communication as the central value of the
school, we identified certain important topics. The unusual position of the communication
assistant helps to manage the process of admitting new children to the
school throughout the year. Being respectful and sensitive to cultural and religious
differences encourages the children to form their own identities and the high level
of intercultural sensitivity of the teachers supports a positive class and school
climate. This data mirrors the tone of other foreign research dealing with cultural
sensitivity (Bennett, 2009, pp. 2−7). The school understands that it is important to
communicate with parents on a regular basis if the children are to have good results.
The school offers communication in several formats. There are clear definitions of
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Denisa Denglerová, Martina Kurowski, Radim Šíp
18 what the parents must not do (e.g. enter the school without appointment) and these
rules are understood.
In relation to Bronfenbrenner’s approach and the notion of trans-systemic linkage
(theme two), it is a basic tenet of the school that it has transformed from a traditional
school into one that can accept the children of foreigners. The current state of
the mesosystem − 65% of children of foreign nationality − has received strong support
from the policies of the macrosystem (a decision of the Department of Education
of the municipality; the Ministry and its grant strategy). However, the participants
do not view this situation positively. They want to be a school for everyone, while
retaining a good ability to work with learners with a different first language. They
consider the ideal percentage of foreign children to be 25−30%. The school boasts
strong interpersonal support, both among the teachers themselves and it is also
inherent within the personnel policy − it is important that the teachers feel good
and their independence, initiative and creativity is rewarded. The teaching team is
stable. The school is characterized by an increased awareness of and care for the
quality of linkage between the following mesosystems − transition from preschool to
school, and from primary school to secondary school. When a new child arrives in the
school, there is a strong emphasis on the smooth progress of the adaptation process,
taking into account all the cultural and religious specifics of the child’s family.
Theme three explored the field of mutual understanding in relation to operating
languages and there are several operating languages in the school. The high percentage
of foreign pupils allows for a considerable degree of support in learning Czech
by various methods, however, it slows down the process of spontaneous acquisition
as the school lacks enough native speakers in peer groups. In the situation when only
every third child is a Czech language native speaker there is limit to the number of
occasions the students can hear and speak the language of their education.
Communication difficulties highlight the importance of non-verbal and paralinguistic
means and of following simple shared rules which facilitate comprehension
regardless of mother tongue. It is these aspects that are part of the field of mutual
understanding. A good command of the communication language does not automatically
mean good results in the academic language (UNESCO, 2016) and this
complicates the educational trajectory of learners with a different first language.
The results of our case study show that centralizing children from a migratory
background into one school brings many problems and does not correspond with the
modern concept of inclusive education. Other schools need to be more closely involved
in the whole system of education of foreign pupils, where children from large
cities, in particular, could study in the “catchment area”. These schools, understandably
hesitant to admit foreigners, need intensive support from their founders,
not just material and financial, but also ideological and methodological (sharing
practice). In this context, the school under investigation can help by providing background
for practice as well as by sharing experiences with other schools. Therefore,
communication and interconnection between the exosystem or macrosystem, on the
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Communication as a Means of Development in a School with a High Percentage of Foreign Pupils
19one hand, and the mesosystem, on the other, are crucial for the successful building
of an inclusive environment.
Acknowledgements
At this point, we would like to thank both reviewers. Their critical and detailed
comments help us to detect insufficiencies of the original text.
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PhDr. Denisa Denglerová, Ph.D.
Faculty of Education, Masaryk University
Poříčí 7, 603 00 Brno, Czechia
denglerova@ped.muni.cz
Mgr. Martina Kurowski, Ph.D.
Faculty of Education, Masaryk University
Poříčí 7, 603 00 Brno, Czechia
kurowski@ped.muni.cz
doc. Mgr. Radim Šíp, Ph.D.
Faculty of Education, Masaryk University
Poříčí 7, 603 00 Brno, Czechia
sip@ped.muni.cz
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