Including Non-Dominant Languages in Educational Policy Change: Key Actors and Agency

Presents a move from static descriptions of policy hierarchies to a dynamic model of actor interaction, a genuinely original analytical lens within the field.

This edited volume discusses the actions of key agents in educational policy change, focusing on shifts towards greater use of non-dominant languages in multilingual contexts. It uses Kosonen and Benson’s (2021) language-in-education policy change framework to consider actors, actions and agency at three levels: change from above, below and the side.

Chapter authors expand on and critique this framework, applying it to a wide-range of low- and middle-income countries in the Global South and considering a diverse selection of actors including academics, NGOs, advocacy groups, teachers, communities and local governments. Taking a critical look at policymaking in multilingual settings, this book explores policy timelines, trajectories of change and implications for sustainable implementation of multilingual education.

This volume will be of particular interest to researchers and practitioners working in the fields of international and comparative education and language policy and planning.

This book is open access under a CC BY NC ND licence.

Kimmo Kosonen is Head of Literacy and Education at the Finnish Bible Society and Advisor on Language Policy, Education and Advocacy at SIL Global. His research interests have focused on language-in-education policies across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, the role of non-dominant languages in education, and implementation of multilingual and non-formal education in low-income countries.

Carol Benson is Founder and Director of MLE International, a non-profit organization providing research and technical support to multilingual educators in low-income contexts. She has experience in teacher education, curriculum development and policy implementation in multilingual countries of the Asia/Pacific, Africa and Latin America regions.