Abstract
The chapter is a critical appraisal of bilingual education policy scholarship and practice against a backdrop of contestations that characterize determination and execution of bilingual education goals and the spread of the idea of linguistic human rights in education – and discourses attendant and consequent to these processes. A dominant and recurrent motif in bilingual education policy discourses is the assumed analogous relationship between language and the nation-state and the sometimes integrative, sometimes disruptive role of education in this relationship. Resultant bilingual education types have, in practice, manifested themselves in a range of programs. Invariably, these programs fall within a dyad of language policy orientations, these being promotion/tolerance and repressive/restrictive. These orientations influence types of educational programs and their outcomes. Nowhere are these dynamics more pronounced than in postcolonial contexts – which, from the critical perspective adopted in the chapter, include, apart from the “usual” contexts in the global south, western democracies with a colonial past. In these contexts, presumed “mother tongue,” local language, or minority language becomes both important and problematic in the conceptualization and implementation of bilingual education policies. In other instances, even when language-in-education policies are allegedly intended to increase opportunities for educational access and equity, in practice, they (re)produce, perpetuate, and entrench unintended outcomes largely inimical to the progressive goals of bilingual education policies. However, when effectively implemented, bilingual education policies remain potent tools for social, political, and economic inclusion of marginalized groups in postcolonial contexts, irrespective of whether these are in the global north or global south.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity and poverty. London: Profile Books.
Alexander, N. (2003). Language education policy, national and sub-national identities in South Africa. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
Arias, M. B., & Faltis, C. (2012). Implementing language policy in Arizona: Legal, historical, and current practices in SEI. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Arias, M. B., & Wiley, T. G. (2015). Forty years after Lau: The continuing assault on educational human rights in the United States with implications for linguistic minorities. In: Languages problems and language planning, 39(3), 227–244.
Baker, C. (1996). Encyclopedia of bilingualism and bilingualism. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (5th ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Bamgbose, A. (1999). African language development and language planning. Social Dynamics, 25(1), 13–30.
Banda, F. (2009). Critical perspectives on language planning and policy in Africa: Accounting for the notion of multilingualism. Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics PLUS, 20(3), 1–11.
Blommaert, J. (1996). Language planning as a discourse on language and society: The linguistic ideology of a scholarly tradition. Language Problems & Language Planning, 20, 199–222.
Bonfiglio, T. P. (2010). Mother tongues and nations: The invention of the native speaker. New York: De Gruyter Mouton.
Bunyi, G. (2005). Language classroom practices in Kenya. In A. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation: Language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 131–152). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Collier, V., & Thomas, W. (2012). English language learners- What really works for English language learners: Research-based practices for principals. In What every principal needs to know to create equitable and excellent schools (pp. 155–173). New York: Teachers College Press.
Crawford, J. (2004). Educating English learners: Language diversity in the classroom (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Bilingual Educational Services.
Crush, J. (1994). Post-colonialism, de-colonization, and geography. In A. Godlewska & N. Smith (Eds.), Geography and empire (pp. 333–350). Oxford: Blackwell.
Cummins, J. (1997). Introduction. In J. Cummins & D. Corson (Eds.) Bilingual education. Vol. 5. International Encyclopedia of Language and Education. (pp. xi–xiv). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Du Plessis, T. (2006). From monolingual to bilingual higher education: The repositioning of historically Afrikaans-medium universities in South Africa. Language Policy, 5(1), 87–113.
Fishman, J. A. (1972). The sociology of language. Rowley: Newbury House.
Fishman, J. A. (1980). Bilingualism and biculturalism as individual and as societal phenomena. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1, 3–5.
Furlong, A., & Cartmel, F. (2009). Higher education and social justice. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Gándara, P., & Orfield, G. (2010). Moving from failure to a new vision of language policy. In P. Gándara & M. Hopkins (Eds.), Forbidden language: English learners and restrictive language policies (pp. 216–226). New York: Teachers College Press.
Garcia, E. E., Jensen, B. T., & Scribner, K. P. (2009). The demographic imperative. Educational Leadership, 66(7), 8–13.
Gray, E. G., & Fiering, N. (2000). The language encounter: 1492–1800. Oxford: Berghahn Books.
Heath, S. B. (1976). Colonial language status achievement: Mexico, Peru, and the United States. In A. Verdoodt & R. Kjolseth (Eds.), Language and sociology. Louvin: Peeters.
Henrard, K. (2001). Language rights and minorities in South Africa. International Journal of Multicultural Societies, 3(2), 78–98.
Hutton, C. L. (1998). Linguistics and the third Reich: Mother-tongue fascism, race and the science of language. London: Routledge.
Jacobs, J. M. (1996). Edge of empire: Postcolonialism and the city. London/New York: Routledge.
Kaiwar, V., Mazumdar, S., & Barnes, A. E. (2009). Antinomies of modernity: Essays on race, orient, nation. Raleigh: Duke University Press.
Kamwangamalu, N. M. (1997). Multilingualism and education policy in post-apartheid South Africa. Language Problems and Language Planning, 21(3), 234–253.
Kamwangamalu, N. M. (2001). The language planning situation in South Africa. Current Issues in Language Planning, 2(4), 361–445.
Kenya Institute of Education. (1992). Primary education syllabus (Vol. 1). Nairobi: Republic of Kenya Ministry of Education.
Kloss, H. (1977). The American bilingual tradition. Rowley: Newbury House Publishers.
Macías, R. F. (2014). Spanish as the second national language of the United States: Fact, fiction, or future hope? Review of Research in Education, 38, 33–57.
McClintock, A. (1992). The angel of progress: Pitfalls of the term “post-colonialism”. Social Text, 10(2&3), 84–98.
Menken, K. (2008). English learners left behind: Standardized testing as language policy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Mignolo, W. D. (2000). Local histories/global designs. Coloniality, subaltern knowledges, and border thinking. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Mwangi, P. I. (2012). A case for the harmonization of Kikuyu, Kiembu and Kimbeere phonology and orthography. In N. O. Ogechi, J. A. N. Oduor, & P. I. Mwangi (Eds.), The harmonization and standardization of Kenyan languages: Orthography and other aspects (pp. 20–38). Cape Town: Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS).
Mwaniki, M. (2012). Language and social justice in South Africa’s higher education: Insights from a South African university. Language and Education, 26(3), 213–232.
Mwaniki, M. (2014). Mother tongue education in primary teacher education in Kenya: A language management critique of the quota system. Multilingual Education, 4(11), 1–17.
Ogechi, N. O., Oduor, J. A. N., & Mwangi, P. I. (2012). The harmonization and standardization of Kenyan languages: Orthography and other aspects. Cape Town: Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS).
Ostler, N. (2006). Empires of the word: A language history of the world. London: Harper.
Ostler, N. (2011). The last lingua franca. London: Pergamum.
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Phillipson, R. (1996). Linguistic imperialism: African perspectives. ELT Journal, 50(2), 160–167.
Radcliffe, S. A. (1997). Different heroes: Genealogies of postcolonial geographies. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space., 29, 1331–1333.
Reagan, T. G. (1987). The politics of linguistic apartheid: Language policies in Black education in South Africa. The Journal of Negro Education, 56(3), 299–312.
Ricento, T., & Wiley, T. G. (2002). Editor’s introduction. Language, identity, and education and the challenges of monoculturalism and globalization. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1(1), 1–7.
Scotton, C. M. (1990). Elite closure as boundary maintenance. In B. Weinstein (Ed.), Language policy and political development (pp. 25–52). Norwood: Ablex.
Spring, J. (2000). The universal right to education. Justification, definition, and guidelines. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Spring, J. (2008). Globalization of education: An introduction. London: Routledge.
Spring, J. (2012). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tollefson, J. (2013). Language policies in education: Critical issues. London: Routledge.
Trudell, B., & Piper, B. (2014). Whatever the law says: Language policy implementation and early-grade literacy achievement in Kenya. Current Issues in Language Planning, 15(1), 4–21.
Venter, A. (2009). The context of contemporary South African politics. In A. Venter, & C. Landsberg (Eds.), Government and politics in South Africa (3rd ed., pp. 3–16), Fourth Impression. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Warfield, J. N., & Perino, G. H., Jr. (1999). The problematique: Evolution of an idea. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 16, 221–226.
Wiley, T. G. (2007). Accessing language rights in education: A brief history of the U.S. context. In O. García & C. Baker (Eds.), Bilingual education: An introductory reader (pp. 89–107). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Wiley, T. G. (2012). English-only movement. In The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. London: Wiley.
Wiley, T. G. (2013). Constructing and deconstructing “illegal” children. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 12(3), 167.
Wiley, T. G., & Artiles, A. (2007). Editor’s introduction: The antinomies of global English and national pedagogies. International Multilingual Research Journal, 1(2), 57–61.
Wiley, T. G., & Wright, W. E. (2004). Against the undertow: Language-minority education policy and politics in the “age of accountability”. Educational Policy, 18(1), 142–168.
Willensky, J. (2000). Learning to divide the world: Education at empire’s end. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Wright, W. E., & Choi, D. (2006). The impact of language and high-stakes testing policies on elementary school English language learners in Arizona. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 14(13), 1–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mwaniki, M., Arias, M.B., Wiley, T.G. (2017). Bilingual Education Policy. In: García, O., Lin, A., May, S. (eds) Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02258-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02258-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02257-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02258-1
eBook Packages: EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education