Globalization and Lithuanian higher education: Language policies and its impact on national identity

• In Event: Dissertation workshop session
  In Special Session: Language Policy

Proposal

Baylor University
Dissertation Faculty Advisor: Dr. Nathan Alleman

Varied openness to European and international influence in educational reform, combined with the concurrent processes of post-communist transition and Europeanization, has made Central and Eastern European countries “unique laboratories” to study the interplay between global, local, and national dynamics (Dakowska & Harmsen, 2015). But as Dobbins and Knill (2009) and others argue, the path dependency from their legacy of communism, combined with their national policy and regulatory context, has substantially affected the degree of isomorphism induced by transnational policies and calling into question theories of integration predicated on tight coupling between local, national and international levels (Andersen, 2001; Elken et al. 2011; Krakilova, 2015; Malinauskaite, 2016).

After re-establishing its independence, the Lithuanian government explicitly established higher education’s strategic role in protecting and advancing Lithuanian national identity (Lietuvos Respublikos aukštojo mokslo ir studijų įstatymas, 2009; Lietuvos Respublikos valstybinės kalbos įstatymas, 1995). One of the primary ways this was accomplished was through its establishment of Lithuanian as the state language and requiring that all university activities be conducted in Lithuanian (Lietuvos Respublikos aukštojo mokslo ir studijų įstatymas, 2009; Aukštojo mokslo tarptautiškumo skatinimo 2011–2012 metų programa). As a result of the Lithuania’s effort to internationalize and recruit more foreign staff and students, the most recent educational reforms provide exceptions to the law (Bulajeva & Hogan-Brun, 2014). However, as Rose and Leišytė (2016)’s comparative case study points out, the current situation at the organizational level indicates that the dominance of the Lithuanian language in both formal and informal settings excludes some foreign and even some returning Lithuanian nationals from full participation in university life.

The purpose of this study is to understand how: 1) globalization-driven educational reform is recontextualized at two major Lithuanian universities; 2) how globalization-driven educational reform and its impact on national identity is perceived by educational leaders, faculty, and students; and 3) how language impacts this mediation and recontextualization process.
Conceptually, this study adopts the glonacal approach towards globalization, recognizing that the interactions between global, national, and local contexts are not uniform in the strength of their coupling and also are impacted by the conditions within their context (Marginson & Rhoades, 2002).

The theoretical framework used in this study, following Krakilova (2015), combines pieces of sociological institutionalism with historical institutionalism. The logic of appropriateness from sociological institutionalism centers on the influence of the actors’ lens to determine which ideas are accorded legitimacy and which are not (Andersen, 2001; Gornitzka and Maassen 2011; Krakilova, 2015; March & Olsen 2004). Historical institutionalism contributes to the theoretical framework by its recognition of the power of institutional history in shaping future trajectory or paths. Path dependency, particular for post-Soviet contexts, informs the structure, organization, and governance of institutions (Hall & Taylor, 1996; Krakilova, 2015).

Research Questions:
1. How do the educational leaders, and the students and academic staff of two major Lithuanian universities, Vytautas Magnus University and Vilnius University, participate in the re-contextualization of nationally and globally-initiated educational reform?
2. What factors do educational leaders, students, and academic staff consider influential in national identity formation?
3. How do organizational policies and structures impact the recontextualization process?
4. How does language, both in formal policy and also social settings, create open, limited, and inaccessible spaces within the university?
5. Are there any organizational or cultural protective mechanisms that may facilitate resistance to globalization?


Methods
This study uses a comparative case study approach. Interviews of faculty, educational leaders, and students will be conducted at two Vilnius University and Vytautas Magnus University – both which play a significant role in Lithuanian history and national identity. Relevant national and university-specific policies, for instance governance mechanisms and language proficiency requirements, will be analyzed.

Current Status
My dissertation is currently in the pre-proposal stage, and I anticipate defending my dissertation proposal (Introduction, Literature Review, and Methods Chapters) sometime in December. At this stage, I believe I would immensely benefit from feedback from mentors for two primary reasons: 1) I am the only individual in my department (including my advisor) focused on international education; and 2) It will be my first time collecting data in the field internationally and my department’s faculty have limited to no experience with the process of collecting data in a foreign country. While I do speak Lithuanian at a novice to intermediate level and have a few reliable contacts at my research sites, I believe I would still benefit immensely from learning about the experiences of faculty and students who have collected data abroad.

Author

• Katie A.R. Hoye, Baylor University