Joana Duarte

Joana Duarte is a Lecturer at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, specializing in multilingual education and sociolinguistics. Her research focuses on diversity, equal opportunities, and language acquisition in multilingual classrooms, with an emphasis on teacher professional development and innovative multilingual didactics.

Her work investigates how educators can leverage multilingualism as a resource in mainstream education, particularly in the northern Netherlands. She advocates for teacher-centered approaches to create inclusive learning environments that support all students' language development.

In collaboration with the 3M Project, she develops strategies for reducing language separation between Dutch, Frisian, and English, promoting migrant language appreciation, and expanding the use of Frisian and English in primary education. This initiative involves teachers, researchers, and teacher trainers to foster practical, evidence-based educational practices.

Her publications emphasize translanguaging theory, multilingual pedagogy, and policy implementation. She emphasizes the role of teachers as pivotal agents in transforming educational systems to embrace linguistic diversity effectively.