Session Information
ERG SES H 04, Language and Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Higher education (H.E.) in Europe is now viewed as a new geo-political space shaped as a response to European developments such as the 'Lisbon Treaty' and the Bologna process. Such developments have established the framework for a new architecture in the area of Europe confirming ‘a neo-liberal understanding of higher education's contribution to the socio-economic well-being of the region’ (Robertson, 2010). Aligned with this, the Bologna process has led to the creation and consolidation of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
The neo-liberal understanding of H.E can be traced in dominant discourses on reform in Greece articulated in a new university law and the recent government-initiated processes of quality assurance, according to E.U. requirements and standards. Competitiveness, productivity, accountability and a clearly formulated demand for a strategic interface between the university and the corporate world are basic elements of the newly introduced law (Law 4009/2011). In addition, H.E. institutions are expected to contribute to the construction of the EHEA by promoting cooperation and increasing effective student and staff mobility.
Given this interconnectedness within and beyond the EHEA, consideration should be given to the linguistic situation. Although the EU advocates linguistic diversity, the English language has been widely-adopted perhaps with far-reaching implications. Moreover, the discourse on the instrumental value of English is embedded in a discourse on development, advancement, mobility and interconnection with the global market and the knowledge economy both for individuals and H.E. institutions (Phillipson, 2008). Several papers have been published on the implications of the spread of English, ranging from issues such as the question of ownership (Widdowson, 1994), and the linguistic issues concerning English as a ‘lingua franca’ (Graddol,1997; Jenkins,2011), to the spread of English taught programmes in Higher Education (Wachter, 2008; Coleman, 2006) and the linguistic imperialism of English (Phillipson, 2008). Nonetheless, we maintain that this matter has been hardly explored as an issue of policy and research in the field of critical educational policy studies in relation to issues of Europeanisation and globalisation, particularly for Greece.
In light of the above, this paper draws on my doctoral research which aims to trace the responses of Greek Higher education institutions to the globalised pressures concerning the issue of linguistic communication and linguistic competency. A motivating assumption is that the new reform processes in Greek HE institutions combined with the promotion of internationalisation and mobility processes, reinforced by key European policy directives and initiatives, are creating new dynamics for language policies and practices. We attempt to analyse current practices by researching the responses to these issues of key actors responsible for policy formation as well as students’ responses. These complex processes are addressed using a combination of analytical concepts. In particular, we draw upon the work of Bourdieu (1991) on language as a form of linguistic capital and the concept of ‘field’ as a social space of competition and struggle. Also Foucault's concept of 'governmentality' and the idea of new forms of governing of the self is contributing to our theoretical perspective. In addition, to approach and analyse the transformations of knowledge within the new policy context, we utilise the concepts of instructional and regulative discourse and the concept of recontextualisation referring to the transformation and reconstitution of discourse as ideas move from the official peadagogic field to the peadagogic recontextualising field (Bernstein, 2000).
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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