Rethinking the Pragmatism of Language Education Policy in the “National Interest”: Lessons From Three Studies

• In Event: Roundtable Session 67
  In Roundtable Session: Education Policy in Theory and Practice: Consequences for Equitable Schooling

Abstract

Language education policy in the United States has been framed historically as a function of U.S. geopolitical and economic interests. Particularly since September 11, 2001, this entanglement has tightened, triggering a lively debate within language planning and policy scholarship. A pragmatic approach to this debate has dominated, which acknowledges both the ideological baggage of framing language education this way and the rainmaker role it plays in conjuring money. My paper historicizes this debate and argues that subordinating language education to putative national interests has been anything but pragmatic. Instead, it has constricted social space for multilingual education and practice.

Author

• Jeff Bale, Michigan State University