Advancing multilingualism and African language teaching in rural early childhood classrooms through professional development

Promoting multilingualism and strengthening African language teaching in early childhood classrooms remains a significant challenge in rural South African schools, where teachers often face resource shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and limited professional development opportunities. This study explored how professional development in digital tools may support multilingual pedagogical practices in early childhood education. The research formed part of a three-year engaged scholarship project led by a comprehensive open distance e-learning (CODeL) institution, which collaborated with three Grade 2 teachers from a rural, under-resourced primary school. Teachers participated in professional development workshops focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, specifically Canva and ChatGPT, to design multilingual literacy resources. Through this process, teachers developed a large multilingual “big book” used for shared reading in the classroom across several languages, including an African home language and English. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were generated through teacher reflections, workshop observations, and artefacts produced during the project. The findings indicate that AI-supported professional development enhanced teachers’ confidence in creating culturally relevant multilingual learning materials, strengthened their understanding of translanguaging practices, and provided innovative strategies for addressing resource limitations in rural classrooms. The study demonstrates the potential of combining engaged scholarships with digital literacy training to empower teachers and promote equitable multilingual education in early childhood classrooms.