Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 706
Part of Session 183: Contesting and reconstructing language policies in urban educational settings (Other abstracts in this session)
Contesting en reconstructing monolingual language policies: cases studies in the city of Ghent, Flanders
Authors: Pulinx, Reinhilde; Van Avermaet, Piet
Submitted by: Pulinx, Reinhilde (Centre for Diversity and Learning, Belgium)
Although lip service is paid to the recognition of home language as an element of identity building and cultural integrity, educational language policies in Flanders are currently characterized by a clear monolingual approach. Educational failure of non-Dutch speaking students is primarily – and often exclusively – explained by insufficient skills in Standard Dutch. It has become so commonsensical (a doxa) that Standard Dutch language deficiency leads imperatively to low achievement not only regarding reading/writing literacy but also scientific and mathematical literacy. A deficiency paradigm of teaching and learning – based on monolingual ideologies – has been constructed, leading to policy measures principally focusing on standard language learning (grammar, orthography, pronunciation) and language testing (at entrance levels , in some cases even as a condition for participation in educational . A revival of remedial teaching and pull-out classes practices can be noticed, even in the absence of sufficient empirical evidence.
In Belgium, one of the founding pillars of the educational organization is the educational freedom guaranteed by the Belgian constitution. This means that the educational institutions have a high degree of pedagogical and didactical freedom and autonomy to implement and attain the educational goals set out by the national policy makers.
At the same time, at grassroots level mainly in urban super diverse areas - i.e. policy makers, principals and teachers – these monolingual ideologies and highly normative views on (language) education and social inequality are being contested.
In this paper, we will discuss to what extent and how national monolingual educational ideologies are being reinforced or contested and reconstructed in urban super diverse day to day education practices. We will look at school policies and classrooms practices of primary and secondary schools in the city of Ghent and at the language and education policy of the city council of Ghent. Do these schools make use of the pedagogical and didactical freedom to contest the official language policies and reconstruct more multilingual approaches to connect more to the multilingual realities of neighborhood, school and classroom composition? Or have they adopted and intensified the national monolingual and mono-educational ideologies? How is language proficiency – in the home and dominant language – perceived at school and classroom level? How do governmental policies interact with school policies and teachers’ discourses and beliefs? Does the city council of Ghent reinforces the national ideologies or do they contest and reconstruct new language and education policies, more embedded in the local realities of super diverse neighborhoods and schools?
The paper is based on the findings of several research projects conducted in primary and secondary schools in the city of Ghent. Official national and city council language policy documents and discourses will be related to formal and informal language policies conducted at school and classroom level, and staff and teachers’ discourses on language proficiency and language policies.