Developing a Framework to Understand Construction of Meaning in a Diverse Classroom: a Bakhtinian Perspective

In the present scenario where diversity is increasing rapidly in terms of social, cultural and economic principles, it becomes important to understand how children from heterogeneous backgrounds are able to survive in mainstream majority laden classrooms. Research has suggested that there are several factors that affect their participation negatively in classroom discourses. The presented paper attempts to understand the same issue with the help of Bakhtin's theory of dialogism. It explores how Bakhtinian dialogue helps in achieving inclusive classrooms with no attempts to even out the differences of perspectives; rather it let all the viewpoints flourishes to develop a healthy discourse. The paper ventures into the various aspects of classrooms dialogue and attempts to develop a theoretical framework to understand how children make meaning in a diverse classroom setting.