Educators are at the epicenter of language policy in education. This book explores how they interpret, negotiate, resist, and (re)create language policies in classrooms. Bridging the divide between policy and practice by analyzing their interconnectedness, it examines the negotiation of language education policies in schools around the world, focusing on educators' central role in this complex and dynamic process.

Each chapter shares findings from research conducted in specific school districts, schools, or classrooms around the world and then details how educators negotiate policy in these local contexts. Discussion questions are included in each chapter. A highlighted section provides practical suggestions and guiding principles for teachers who are negotiating language policies in their own schools.

About the Author

Kate Menken is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and a Research Fellow at the Research Institute for the Study of Language in an Urban Society at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Ofelia Garcia is Professor in the Ph.D. programs in Urban Education and Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Reviews

"....This focus on the teacher-level in education language policies is welcome and long overdue....This is an excellent book that makes an important and outstanding contribution to the field. It is highly recommended for teachers and scholars working in the field of language education policies." --Education Review

"The editors have assembled a unique collection of state-of-the-art essays on language policies and education that focus on the role of teachers in the implementation of language policies in a wide range of educational contexts. All of the essays are informative, interesting and of a very high quality. Educational linguists, sociolinguists, applied linguists, teachers, future teachers and anyone else interested in the impact of language policies on classroom interactions would do well to read this volume."--Teachers College Record

"...An especially timely contribution in light of the growing impact of transmigration and globalization in education systems around the world."--Teresa McCarty, Arizona State University

"Kate Menken and Ofelia Garcia have edited an important volume on multilingual language policy. Negotiating Language Policies in Schools: Educators as Policymakers comprises 13 studies, mostly qualitative, which shift the discussion of language policy from a macro to a micro-ideological discursive space. The voices and agencies of mostly - but not exclusively- teachers as policy-makers are richly textured with nuanced evidence throughout."-Language and Education

Book Information
ISBN 9780415802086
Author Kate Menken
Format Paperback
Page Count 282
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g