1. Language Education policy in Europe: narrativity
and identities’ construction
Politiche linguistico-educative in Europa: narratività e
costruzione delle identità
X Days of Linguistic Rights - DLR 2016
Evaluating language policies. Which objectives, criteria,
indicators?
International conference
Teramo-Giulianova
14-16 December 2016
2. Outline
• Introduction:
- «language question» in Italy and in Europe (19th-20th
century)
• Language policy/language planning: definition
• Globalization and language education
• Quantity or quality in education?
• Top down or bottom up approaches?
• Narrativity and identity construction: examples of quality in
education
3. • In an #interconnected world the real risk today
is represented by new kowledge #monopolies in
which the knowledge itself of hyper-central
languages (eg. English) play a key role!
• Who is exluded and who is included in the
global network?
• Which role can play education?
• What kind of education?
4. The «language question»
"When the "language problem" emerges, this
means that other problems are emerging: the
necessity to establish deeper and safer
relationships between leader groups and the
social mass of a nation"
Antonio Gramsci
5. XIX century
• Romantic Age: Nationalism in Europe
• The important role of national languages for
the construction of national states
• National identity
• Herder
• Humboldt
6. Language policy
• instruments for the «allocation of values»
Language planning
«Language planning» is a highly complex set of activities involving the
intersection of two very different and potentially conflicting themes:
one that of ‘meaning’ common to all our activities with language, and
other semiotics as well; the other theme that of ‘design’. If we start
from the broad distinction between designed systems and evolved
systems, then language planning means introducing design processes
and design features into a system (namely language) which is
naturally evolving».
Halliday
7. XX century
• After the II war world:
Council of Europe
- European Cultural Convention (1954):
a) The role of linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversity in Europe
b) Human rights
c) Ethical principles
d) “encouraging the study […] of the languages, history and civilization of the
other Contracting Parties and grant facilities to those Parties to promote
such studies in its territory” in order to guarantee “a greater understanding
of one another among the peoples of Europe” (Article 2).
Multilingual policies of the European Union (in the 90s)
a) Neoliberalism
b) Competition
c) «knowledge society» (White paper 1995)
International organizations
a) OECD
b) Unesco
8. Globalization and national states
“The values that national systems of education
now promote through policy are no longer
determined wholly by policy actors within the
nation-state, but are forged through a range of
complex processes that occur in transnational
and globally networked spaces”
F., Rizvi, B., Lingard
9. XXI century
Globalization of education:
• standartization
• skills
• homologation
• «global competences»
• OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education
worldwide (The Guardian, 6.05.14)
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/oecd-pisa-tests-damaging-education-
academics?CMP=share_btn_fb
10. OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education worldwide
(The Guardian, 6.05.14)
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/oecd-pisa-tests-damaging-education-
academics?CMP=share_btn_fb
• Administered every three years, Pisa results are
anxiously awaited by governments, education
ministers, and the editorial boards of newspapers, and
are cited authoritatively in countless policy reports.
They have begun to deeply influence educational
practices in many countries. As a result of Pisa,
countries are overhauling their education systems in
the hopes of improving their rankings.
• Pisa has contributed to an escalation in such testing
and a dramatically increased reliance on quantitative
measures.
11. United Nations
The Sustainable Development Agenda
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals
13. EU policies:
Top down or bottom up approach?
Pyramidal structure:
• Decisions at European level
• National level
• Regional or local level
• School level
15. Bottom up approach to language
education
• Importance of plurilingual and intercultural
education in Europe
• Importance of language competences
(marketisation, globalisation,competitiveness,
networks, co-constructionof knowledge, etc)
• Pedagogic approach to language education
through bottom up procedures
16. National Project – Italy
• Action research project (plurilingualism and
intercultural education)
• 5 school years (2011 – 2016)
• Primary schools
• A different didactic path for each school year
• First school year
Oral co-construction of autobiographies
17. Constructivism
Autobiography
(Jerome Bruner)
• Autobiography can be seen as a way to share and
validate the main features of the language and
culture of origin and, at the same time, to reflect
on similarities and differences between different
cultures through an implicit meta-reflexive
process.
• Meta-reflexive process implies a continuing
interpretation and reinterpretation of existential
experiences through a set of mental procedures
for life making
18. Social exclusion
• Bruner’s theories underline implicitly the
importance of the impact with the culture and
the official language of the host country since it
can determine the level of social and linguistic
integration of migrants.
• A negative experience can often imply a
spontaneous form of linguistic isolation and
social exclusion as well as the refusal of cultural
values and traditions of the host country.
19. Action-research project
• During the action – research project the validation of children’s
cultures and languages of origin through a sharing process of self –
told life narratives had a positive impact on their self – esteem, self-
confidence, curiosity and motivation in learning the main language of
schooling.
• They developed a broader knowledge of linguistic and cultural
diversity as well as meta-linguistic awareness and sensitivity to sounds.
• Activities such as visualization of words, drawings, expressions, songs
in different languages, the spontaneous participation of their parents
in the project, were perceived as proactive forms of validation of their
home language.
• Moreover, Italian children learned to appreciate the importance of
cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Integration of families with migrant backgrounds in the school
community
20. Conclusions
• Quality in education for fostering cultural and
linguistic integration («European Project»)
• Multiplier effect of best practices at national
and at European level
• Education as a catalyst for innovation and
social change
• Importance of language education in a
globalized world (new knowledge monopolies)
