In the context of post-9/11 calls for educational reform in the Arab-Muslim world, this study investigates a set of underlying claims and assumptions about the socialising capacities of English-medium education. Specifically, the study examines perceptions about the socialising effects of English-medium education from the standpoint of Arab-Muslim students at a Gulf Arab university. In assessing these perceptions, the study compares students’ perceptions on two levels: (i) on one level, it looks into students’ perceptions about the socialising effects of English-medium education in direct contrast to those of Arabic-medium education; and (ii) on another level, it contrasts the perceptions of English-medium students with those of Arabic-medium students. The research for this thesis was carried out at an international bilingual Arab university in the United Arab Emirates. Data for the study was gathered from two data collection sources, namely student questionnaires and group interview sessions. In both instances, students’ perceptions were sought on a range of contrastive issues related to a series of underlying claims and assumptions about English-medium and Arabic-medium education. Overall, 365 Arabic-speaking students from both an English-medium and Arabic-medium educational background participated in the study. Within this sample group, students were drawn from four university colleges: College of Engineering, College of Business, College of Law, and College of Shari’a and Islamic Studies. The study’s findings unveil a complex, often mixed and divided picture of students’ perceptions about the socialising roles of both English-medium and Arabic-medium education. In regard to English-medium education, it finds that though there is a general acceptance of the benefits of studying the English-language, there is also to some extent an acknowledgement of the culturally alienating effects on Arab-Muslim students. The study therefore recommends that granted the paucity of research in this area there is a need to further investigate students’ perceptions from a broader range of institutional cultures in the region.

In this multi-methodological (Gee, 2011; Hult & D. Johnson, 2015) study, I examine Richard Ruiz's (2014) original concept of the epiphenomenal nature of language in language policy and planning (LPP) across social scales (Hult, 2013) in Hong Kong. While research in Hong Kong has focused on interactions between schools, teachers, students, parents, business, and the government, the work on non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) remains a neglected social scale. Addressing this gap, I examine the role of a local NGO, Hong Kong Unison (Unison), as a social actor involved in the negotiation of language-in-education policies for the city's ethnic minority students. Through the collection of one decade of publically accessible documents, I created a corpus of Unison's work. Corpus linguistics approaches and a wider-angle perspective to critical discourse analysis (cf. Tian, 2006, 2008) were combined in order to highlight salient patterns and discourses within the data (cf. Baker, 2016). Corpus and discursive analyses indicate that Unison is primarily involved in transforming language policies through their active role in increasing public awareness about the social, political, and educational difficulties ethnic minority students encounter in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the NGO’s ideologies reveal the epiphenomenal nature of LPP. Epiphenomenality reflects how decisions made about language are influenced and shaped by non-linguistic phenomena. Unison's negotiation of LPP demonstrates how their decisions about language are connected to issues of equality, justice, economic opportunity, educational attainment, and social advancement. These ideologies manifest themselves in dialogue across social scales, demonstrating Unison's impact in negotiating LPP in Hong Kong. This study, while providing more insight into LPP research by examining the role of a local NGO, continues to raise questions on how to best understand how multiple scales intersect in the policymaking process, and how the epiphenomenal nature of language shapes decision-making.

This critical case study examines elementary school principals' perceptions of language and how those perceptions influence educational opportunities (i.e. curriculum and instruction) provided for English language learners in Southern Arizona elementary schools in two school districts. These schools have an above state average population of second language learners, high levels of student achievement according to the state letter grade and the four-hour English Language Development (ELD) block. This study draws heavily on the notion of language orientations as a conceptual model as proposed by Richard Ruiz (1984, 1994) to better comprehend the complexity of the bilingual education debate, however in this study, the focus is the four-hour ELD block from Arizona’s law ARS 15-752—English Language Education Law. Implications from the research indicate that there is limited principal mediation and inconsistent curriculum and instruction for English Language Learners in the four-hour ELD block. Recommendations for school leadership call for continued professional development on effective second language acquisition practices that are research based and not district initiated, resistance to the alternative language program and advocacy for ELLs.

My dissertation examines literary portraits of education in French- and Arabic-language literature from the Maghreb. The texts that I study recount their protagonists' experience, as students or teachers, in the school system following independence in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I focus, in particular, on debates relating to the "Arabization" of education. Arabizing education in the Maghreb was considered a fundamental act of decolonization, yet its promotion of a single national language provoked much criticism. I examine how authors use literary depictions of the classroom to treat critical topics surrounding language policy, national identity projects, the legacy of the colonial past, and the future of the education system. The chapters of this work explore four critical issues in discussions of education: the relationship between "colonial" and "postcolonial" education systems, the place of Amazigh (Berber) minorities in an Arabized education system, the effect of education on gender dynamics, and the "economics of education" which exclude many students from social mobility. This work examines thirteen literary texts, seven written in French and six in Arabic: `Abd al-Ghani Abu al-`Azm's Al Darih and Al al Darih al-akhar, Leila Abouzeid's Ruju' ila al-tufulah and Al- Fasl al-Akhir, Wahmed Ben Younes's Yemma, Karima Berger's L'enfant des deux mondes, Maissa Bey's Bleu blanc vert, Wahiba Khiari's Nos silences, Fouad Laroui's "L'Etrange affaire du cahier bounni," Mohamed Nedali's Grâce à Jean de la Fontaine!, Brick Oussaïd's Les coquelicots de l'oriental, Habib Selmi's Jabal al-`anz, and Zohr Wanissi's Min Yawmiyat Mudarrisah Hurrah. I adopt a comparative disciplinary approach, connecting the literary form of works to a larger discussion of the social roles of literature. I argue that the texts I examine are all concerned with the tension inherent in using the literary form to engage in discussion, and often critique, of the educational institutions that provide conditions for literature's existence. My dissertation elucidates the stakes of this complicated relationship between education and literature in the Maghreb, asking how it is continuing to evolve. There is a marked anxiety in each of these works as to whether the student will become a reader of the literary text. This anxiety colors approaches to all of the issues that surround education, and brings into question the place of literature in contemporary Maghrebi cultures.

Gaelic in Scotland has been undergoing language shift, with both a decline in the number of speakers and domains in which the language is routinely used. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act of 2005 aimed to secure the status of the language and under its provision required public authorities based in Scotland to prepare Gaelic language plans. This thesis explored the interplay of these formal language management initiatives and linguistic practices in Stornoway, the largest settlement in the Western Isles, the last remaining heartland of the language in Scotland. Linguistic soundscape surveys collected data in real time and in situ in ten different public spaces, both with and without statutory Gaelic language plans, to assess how, when, and by whom, and for what purpose Gaelic was used. This data was supplemented by eleven language use diaries of bilingual Gaelic/English speakers residing in Stornoway. This quantitative data was used to evaluate individual linguistic practices and how these varied across the different domains of communication, including closed domains not covered by the linguistic soundscape surveys. The findings of this study indicate that Gaelic was not used as extensively as might statistically be expected, but that the language makes a significant contribution to the linguistic soundscape of the community, especially in interactions involving participants over the age of 60 and in private domain interactions. Bilingual Gaelic / English speakers use Gaelic in circumstances where they do not have to (re-)negotiate Gaelic as an accepted linguistic norm. This was especially the case in social networks and closed domains such as places of work or education. Gaelic was used to a lesser extent in public domain interactions, and only where members of staff used Gaelic in the linguistic soundscape of that particular space.

Gaelic-medium education (GME) as it exists today started in 1985, when two classes offering instruction through the medium of Gaelic opened within primary schools in Glasgow and Inverness. GME grew rapidly throughout the first decade of its availability, and 1258 students were enrolled in the system by 1995. This thesis examines outcomes of this system in terms of the degree to which former pupils who started in GME during this period continue to use Gaelic in their daily lives, and provides an assessment of their language ideologies and attitudes. The 2011 census showed a diminution in the decline of Gaelic speakers in Scotland, but marginal growth of 0.1% was recorded in the number of speakers under the age of 20. Whilst this growth has been understood by politicians and policy-makers as evidence of the role of GME in revitalising the language, the census figures give a limited picture of the actual language practices of reported speakers, the extent to which they use Gaelic, or of their beliefs, feelings and attitudes regarding the language. Internationally, little research appears to have been done on the life trajectories of adults who received a bilingual education through a minority language; that is to say, on the effect that the bilingual classroom has on such individuals’ relationship to the language after formal schooling is completed. The first students to receive GME at primary school are now in their late 20s and early 30s, and prospects for the maintenance and intergenerational transmission of Gaelic by this group are currently unknown. The principal research questions of this investigation comprise the following: - What role does Gaelic play in the day-to-day lives of former Gaelic-medium students who started in GME during the first decade of its availability; how and when do they use the language? - What sets of beliefs and language ideologies do these Gaelic-medium educated adults express in relation to Gaelic? - How do these beliefs and ideologies relate to their actual language practices, to their attitudes concerning the language, and to future prospects for the maintenance of Gaelic? Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, I provide an assessment of Gaelic use, language ideologies and attitudes among a sample of 130 Gaelic-medium educated adults. A thematic, ethnography of speaking methodology is employed to analyse qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 46 informants. Additionally, responses to an electronic questionnaire are evaluated by statistical analysis using Spearman’s rank order correlation co-efficient to investigate the relationships between non-parametric variables of reported language use, ability, socialisation and attitudes. The results are discussed with reference to extensive research literatures on language, culture and identity, language revitalisation in the international context, and the perceived limitations of GME which have previously been identified with regard to the revitalisation of Gaelic.

This study traces the relationship between language policy activity and multilingual social identity development through schools and homes in a public school district implementing an English Language Learner (ELL) program. The social impacts of language policies cannot be fully understood without consideration of how they impact social identities and opportunity for the populations they affect (Johnson, 2013; Shohamy, 2006; Tollefson, 1991). Power in language policy processes is seen as multi-layered (Ricento & Hornberger, 1996), with teachers at the heart. However, there has been little attention to the powerful role of those whose language practices policy is meant to regulate: students and parents. Using data gathered in the schools, homes, and communities of multilingual students over the course of two years, this critical ethnographic study provides ethnographic understanding of language policy, language use, literacy learning, and policy negotiation on the part of parents as they relate to social identity development. Ultimately, the work extends exploration of the layers of policy activity to the homes and communities of multilingual students and their families, uncovering implications about the role of language policies in shaping equitable educational opportunity. Findings show how multilingual parents can and should be positioned as powerful negotiators in language policy processes, leading to implications for transformation in theory and practice.

Thesis (M.ED.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / The Department of Education language policy states that all official languages may be used in the teaching and learning at South African schools. The department of Education has adopted an Additive Multilingualism as an approach to teaching. English is however, still being used as the language of learning and teaching, even to the learners who are not mother-tongue speakers of the language. This study explores the question of whether code-switching aids or impedes teaching and learning in Mathematics. The problem arises when learners encounter concepts in Mathematics which are written in English and need to be explained in English. Learners often struggled to understand these concepts with the results that educators resort to using their home language to try to explain what these concepts mean. To understand the nature of this problem and how it affects teaching and learning, a qualitative research was undertaken. Two secondary schools in the Sekgosese East Circuit were purposefully sampled for this study. The purpose of the study was to explore the role of code-switching in the teaching and learning of concepts in Mathematics and its effects on the acquisition of Mathematics. The findings revealed that the school were code-switching was applied performed better in Mathematics than the school where code-switching was not employed. The study recommended that educators should use the learners’ home language in instances where their knowledge of English impedes them to convey the meaning clearly.

This is a study of the discourse contest concerning the officialisation of English in the United States. It consists of an analysis of the language of that discourse shaped by a belief that discourse is a rather neglected but potentially illuminating area of examination of language and literacy policy. The study seeks to understand the processes and content of language policy as it is being made, or performed, and is influenced by a critique of the theory and practice of language policy which tends to adopt technicist paradigms of examination that insufficiently elucidate the politics of the field. ¶ Accordingly a systematic gathering of the texts of language disputation in the US was collected. These texts were organised in response to the methods of elicitation. Semi-elicited texts, elicited texts and unelicited texts were gathered and tested to be sure that they constituted a fair representation of the concourse (what had been said and was being said about the issue) over a 15 year period. Those statements, or texts, that had particular currency during the 104th Congress were selected for further use. An empirical examination of the subjective dispositions of those activists involved in the making of official English, or of resisting the making of official English, was conducted. ¶ This examination utilised the Q methodology (inverted factor analysis) invented by William Stephensen. The data from this study provided a rich field of knowledge about the discursive parameters of the making of policy in synchronic and diachronic form. Direct interviews were also conducted with participants, and discourse analysis of ‘naturally occurring’ (unelicited texts) speeches and radio debates and other material of persuasion and disagreement was conducted. ¶ These data frame and produce a representation of the orders of discourse and their dynamic and shaping power. Against an analysis of language policy making and a document analysis of the politics of language in the United States the discourses are utilised to contribute to a richer understanding of the field and the broad conclusion that as far as language policy is concerned it is hardly possible to make a distinction with political action. ¶ The theoretical implications for a reinvigorated language policy theory constitute the latter part of the thesis. In the multi-epistemological context that postmodernity demands, with its skepticism about the possibility of ‘disinterest’, the thesis offers its own kinds of data triangulation, and the making central of subjective dispositions and political purposes and engagements of the principal anatagonists.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.