Advancing Multilingual Education: Equity, Inclusion, and Wellbeing

Language in education is a highly debated issue worldwide, with unique challenges encountered in different regions. In the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, multilingualism is widespread, yet many students do not meet basic reading proficiency by the end of their early schooling. This worrying trend highlights the vital need to overcome language barriers that impede effective education for all students, including those who are neurodivergent and need special educational support. Research into bilingual and multilingual education has gained momentum as a potential solution to ensure inclusivity and learning success, yet the effective implementation of these educational models is patchy and the inclusion of indigenous languages continues to fall behind more globally dominant languages such as English and French.

This Research Topic aims to further enrich the discussion and understanding of multilingual education within the Global South by presenting evidence-based research that promotes equity, inclusion, and wellbeing. It seeks to explore new insights and present frameworks that could facilitate the incorporation of multilingual education across diverse educational landscapes, potentially transforming education systems to be more inclusive and equitable.

To gather further insights in effective multilingual education strategies, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• The Role of Storytelling in Multilingual Classrooms: Weaving Cultures Together
• Early Childhood Multilingual Pedagogies
• The Role of Play in Fostering Multilingual Learning
• Community Empowerment and Transformation through Multilingual Education
• Promoting Cultural Identity and Inclusion via Indigenous Languages
• Effective Multilingual Pedagogy Implementation Strategies for Teachers
• Leveraging Indigenous Languages in Mainstream Education
• Teacher Development for Diverse Linguistic Classrooms

This exploration is intended to help shape future educational policies and practices, facilitating more comprehensive and inclusive learning environments that do not leave any student behind.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Multilingual Education, Equity, Inclusion, Language Education

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.