LUXEMBOURG'S MULTICULTURAL, MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION SYSTEM AND HOFSTEDE

The purpose of this study is to describe and explain the Luxembourgish trilingual public education system considering the special cultural pattern following Hofstede et al. (2010). 154 questionnaires were collected and 36 interviews conducted among 1) Luxembourgers with Luxembourgish Nationality (Lux. Nat.), 2) Luxembourg residents including Lux. Nat. and foreigners who reside in Luxembourg (Lux. All.), and 3) the rest of the world (World). More specifically cross-cultural management theories by Hofstede et al. (2010), Hofstede (2001) and House et al. (2004), in combination with language theories by Lewis (2006), Blackledge and Ceese (2010), Cummins (2000), Garcia (2014, 2009), and language and management theories by Brannen, Piekkari & Tietze (2014) serve as basis for the language as identifier theory (Schinzel, 2013a). There is a high failure rate of school students who tend to not understand the language of instruction especially in mathematics, biology, chemistry, and history, and the command of the English language in schools is insufficient. Some of the interviews are reprinted; discussion, implications, and recommendations for future research follow.