A critical exploration of how language-of-instruction choices affect educational equity

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Monday I)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Equity, ambition, and omission: can the sustainable development goals be sustained? (parts I and II)

Proposal

In many parts of the world, children are forced to sink or swim in educational systems that rely on a single dominant language as the medium of instruction. SDG Target 4.5 calls for all 193 signatory countries, by 2030, to ‘eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education…[for] persons with disabilities, [I]ndigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations’ (United Nations 2015). As professionals who have spent our careers promoting quality education, we find it unacceptable that there is no specific mention of language and its essential role in providing access to literacy and quality education and equity in that provision. In our contribution, we draw on relevant literature and case studies from Cambodia, South Africa and Rwanda to show that education targets will not be met unless more emphasis is placed on the languages through which learners are taught. We argue that languages of instruction are either central enablers or barriers to educational equity, since it is through these languages that a learner must gain access to initial and continuing literacy as well as learn to think critically and interact with teachers and peers around curricular content. For equity of educational opportunity there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, but there are overall understandings about language use in the classroom. The central questions (after Benson 2016) are: First, is the learner taught and assessed in a language s/he understands and speaks well? Second, does instruction draw on the learner’s prior experiences and resources to construct new knowledge? And third, are teachers proficient in the language(s) of instruction? These questions guide our critical exploration of language-of-instruction choices and educational equity.

Authors

• Lizzi Okpevba Milligan, University of Bath

• Zubeda Desai, University of Western Cape

• Carolyn J. (Carol) Benson, Teachers College, Columbia University