Implementation of EU Languages Proficiency Policies in Neoliberal Educational Contexts: The Case of Sweden

Author(s):

Guadalupe Francia(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

23 SES 07 C, Globalisation and Cultural Policies

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-11

17:15-18:45

Room:

G-103

Chair:

Janne Varjo

Contribution

Globalization of the economy and the defragmentation of welfare societies have had considerable impacts on education. Across Europe, neoliberal education reforms were implemented in order to increase diversity, flexibility and individual competition in European educational systems.

These reforms have often included the implementation of policies to increase citizens’ language proficiency in order to guarantee competitive individuals for the global free market. Considering multilingualism as a condition to profit the possibilities of the globalized labor market, the European Commission has for example introduced Proficiency in three Community Languages as one of the five central goals for EU education policy in 1995. Proficiency in foreign languages is considered as an instrument to develop the European identity, as well as to increase EU citizens’ competence to work in a global market and live in different cultural and languages contexts.

In order to illustrate and discuss the impacts of globalized labor market in EU countries education systems, the contribution aims to analyze the implementation of EU- educational policies to increase pupils’ language proficiency at the national level. It aims to reexamine policies for language proficiency with focus on modern language curricular subject (French, Spanish and German) in Swedish compulsory school system during the period 1990 to 2012.

Research of the impacts of Globalization in Economy and Labour market and its effects to equity (Bauman 2007, Castell 1997 Apple 1998) is used in order to put language proficiency policies in the Swedish Compulsory System in an economic, political and social global context. This theoretical start of point are useful instrument in the analysis of the motives of the education policies at EU- and national levels presented at the selected documents .The intertextual perspective of text and its meanings (Kristeva 1970, Francia 1999) will also be used as theoretical and methodological starting for this project.

Method

This study is based on a multi-methods approach that includes following project design: Text analysis of Education policy and language policy documents at EU level.Text Analysis of Education policy and language policy documents at national level (ex: School Act, National Curriculum, National Program for curricular subject Modern Language. Re-analysis of the statistics of students’ number, gender, language choice and results in modern languages (French, Spanish and German) from SCB and from Skolverket during 1996-2013. Text produced by political and educational actors at different levels are analyzed in dialogue with each other in order to find limitations, possibilities, compatibilities and complexities in the implementation of policies at the school practices. This intertextual reading of policies and practices includes even interviews records with school authorities, school staff and representatives from teachers and modern languages organizations. These interview records are considered as texts produced in a dialogue process between the interviewers and the persons who are interviewed (Se Francia 1999).

Expected Outcomes

This research shows the complexity to implement EU- language proficiency policies in neoliberal educational contexts. It shows conflicts in the implementation of educational goals and equity national standards at EU- and National levels as a consequence of the high level of decentralization of the Swedish education system. It shows even the central role of teacher education in the successful implementation of EU-language proficiency policies at the national level.

References

Apple, M.W. (1988) Economics and inequality in schools. Theory into Practice Vol. 27, No. 4, Civic Learning (Autumn, 1988), 282-287 http://www.jstor.org/pss/1477013 Bauman Z (2007) Tiempos Líquidos. Vivir en una época de incertidumbre. Buenos Aires: Tusquels Editores. Castell M. (1997) La era de la Información. Economía, Sociedad y Cultura. Vol. 2. El Poder deLa identidad. Madrid: Alianza Editorial Englund & A. Quennerstedt 2008 Englund & A. Quennerstedt Vadå likvärdighet? Studier i utbildningspolitisk språkanvändning. Kapitel 5, sidor 99-123 Göterborg: Dailos European Commission (1995) White Paper on Education and Training. Teaching and Training. Towards the Learning Society. http://europa.eu/documents/comm/white_papers/pdf/com95_590_en.pdf Europeiska Gemenskaperna Kommission 2008: Europeiska Gemenskaperna Kommission (2008) . Flerspråkighet: en tillgång för Europa och ett gemensamt åtagande. Bryssel den 18.9.2008 KOM(2008) 566 slutlig. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/documents/2008_0566_sv.pdf Francia, G (1999) Policy som text och som praktik: en analys av likvärdighetsbegreppet i 1990-talets utbildningsreform för det obligatoriska skolväsendet. Pedago¬giska institutionen, 94 (Diss. Stockholm: Univ2000) Francia G. (2011) Dilemmas in the implementation of children’s right to equity in education in the Swedish compulsory school. European Education Research Journal, Vol. 10 No. 1 2011 102-117 Francia G. (in press) Spanska som modernt språk: möjligheter och utmaningar. FBA. Uppsala universitet. Gustafsson, J.E. (2006) Barns utbildningssituation. Stockholm: Rädda Barnen. Kristeva, J. (1970). Le texte du roman. Paris: The Hague Skolverket (2004) Kursplaner i språk - internationella utblickar. PM 2004-10-11. Utredning Tommy Lagergren. Skolinspektionen (2010) Moderna språk. Kvalitetsgranskning Rapport 2010:06 Skolverket (2011) Redovisning av regeringsuppdragen angående utveckling av språkvalen moderna språk och svenska/engelska. Dnr 01-2010-5226. 2011-01-31

Author Information

Guadalupe Francia (presenting / submitting)

Uppsala University, Sweden

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