ERIC Number: EJ1430202
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-4632
EISSN: EISSN-1747-7557
Colombian National Bilingual Plan: A Vehicle for Equity or an Instrument for Accountability?
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v45 n5 p1479-1492 2024
Equality and equity have become dominant discourses within educational policy documents during the last decade. Colombia, for example, has introduced a language policy initiative that purports to provide educational equity opportunities for all through English language environments and opportunities within schools. Drawing on Ball's (1993. "What is Policy?" "Discourse" 13 (2): 10-17, 2012a. "Global Education Inc." London: Routledge, 2013. "The Education Debate" (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: The Policy Place.) approach to policy analysis, this article critically interrogates the Colombian "National Bilingual Program" (PNB, in Spanish) by analysing the ways in which the concepts of (in)equality and (in)equity are addressed. We argue in this article that the PNB misrepresents the concept of equity, presenting a policy that aims to address it but fails to do so. Hence, this study reveals how rhetoric is used to position educators and institutions as accountable for the equal access to learning opportunities and environments that the policy promises. This article builds on the premise that contemporary educational reforms challenge the autonomy of educators, institutions, and local authorities by strengthening their accountability while governmental institutions centralise their authority.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Educational Policy, Policy Analysis, Bilingual Education, Equal Education, Educational Change, Access to Education, Professional Autonomy, Spanish, Institutional Autonomy, Accountability, Administrative Organization, Political Attitudes, Student Rights, Elementary Secondary Education
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A