Citizen science and multilingualism: shaping democracy in schools with young people

What role can multilingualism play in the school education system? This is the question addressed by the Sparkling-Science project “SAG'S MULTI – Multilingual Empowerment”. Students work together with scientists from the University of Vienna on current issues in language and education research and examine, among other things, experiences from the public speaking competition “SAG'S MULTI.”

Young people are actively involved in the entire research process: they develop their own questions, collect and analyze data, and reflect on their results. This participatory approach addresses key points that Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hannes Schweiger and Dr. Katja Mayer emphasize in their conversation with Rudolphina: school as a place where knowledge is not only transferred but also produced collaboratively, and where students are involved as experts of their own life realities.

At the same time, the Sparkling-Science project promotes important future skills, such as diversity competence, scientific and critical thinking. Multilingualism is highlighted as a resource: a central element for social participation and democracy, especially with regard to population groups that are rarely involved in research.

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