HMông Students’ Sources of Funds of Knowledge: A Case Study of Kinh Primary School Teachers’ Practices

Abstract

Teachers working with ethnic minority students who have different language and cultural background from their own may have little knowledge of their students in out-of-school context. This lack of students’ knowledge and resources outside of the school may lead to deficit thinking regarding this non-dominated group as intellectually and academically deficient. Underachievement and low study engagement by HMông ethnic minority students in disadvantaged primary schools in Vietnam evidence a need for more effective teaching practices to support these minority students’ learning and reduce inequality within their educational environment. The funds of knowledge (FoK) approach attempts to overcome teachers’ perceptions of ethnic minority students and their knowledge through learning about these students’ FoK and incorporating these insights into the teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to explore how Kinh teachers identify HMông students’ sources of FoK in order to support their teaching/learning practices. This research employs qualitative educational research method together with case study method to examine the way Kinh primary teachers identify HMông students’ sources of FoK. The findings indicate that Kinh primary teachers identified HMông students’ different sources of FoK that the teachers could beneficially be drawing on to empowering HMông children’ participation, achievement and Kinh teachers’ teaching practices.