(Re)Production of Inequality in the School System? A Comparison of Croatia’s and Austria’s Concepts of Plurilingualism

Abstract

In Croatia‘s and Austria’s educational systems, plurilingual students have long had the status of a prioritygroup, and thus give us the impression of readiness in facing the "problem" of dynamics of society asthe greatest challenge of all – whether as national minorities or students who, as refugees in accompaniedor without parents, come to one of these countries in search of a better life. In both countries, conceptshave been developed and laws aimed at integrating plurilingual children into regular classes as soon aspossible, encouraging them to learn the language of the majority population first, while neglecting theirbackgrounds and the potential they carry. By reviewing and comparing concepts, laws, and regulationsthat deal with all aspects of the phenomenon of plurilingualism – from the structure and manner ofdistribution of plurilingual children in classrooms, through the training of teachers who teach them, tothe image of them in society, the paper will try to answer the question to what extent these states areready for the multi- and plurilingual reality that surrounds us.