Policy Drag &amp; Resiliency: Teachers’ Response to Voluntary Language Policy in Southeastern Estonia

Brown, Kara D.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-52993-6_10

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Instead, amendments to the Law on Basic and Upper Secondary Schools were made to change the situation within the existing institutions, and a gradual transition to the Estonian language (at least 60% of the curriculum) was planned (Heidmets et al, 2011). The focus on language (of instruction) concealed the fact that institutions kept alive what Brown (2017) calls a "policy drag", the production and reproduction of attitudes and ideologies from the previous state. Many teachers of today have acquired the foundations of their practices and ideologies in the past; therefore, those outdated language policies last beyond the formal life of the policies (Kiilo & Kutsar, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Social Inclusion through Multilingual Habitus in Estonia: A Case Study of the Open School of Kalamaja and the Sakala Private School

L’nyavskiy-Ekelund

Siiner

2017

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After the restoration of independence in 1991, Estonia continued with a parallel school system with separate public schools operating for Russian-and Estonian-speaking children. Seen as a developmental 'growing pains' of a transitional state, during the last 27 years the separate school system has contributed to infrastructural difficulties, educational injustice, and societal segregation. This article investigates the role of private schools in addressing this injustice from the analytical angle of new institutionalism, structuration and intergroup contact theories. How do these institutions challenge and aim at changing the state language regime or path dependency in the language of education? Two case studies are presented in this article: The Open School, established in 2017 for children with different home language backgrounds and targeting trilingual competences; The Sakala Private School, established in 2009, offering trilingual education with Russian as a medium of instruction. During this period of nation-state rebuilding and globalization, we investigate whether developing a multilingual habitus is a way to address the issue of social cohesion in the Estonian society in. So far, no other studies of private initiatives in Estonian language acquisition planning have been done.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Social Inclusion through Multilingual Habitus in Estonia: A Case Study of the Open School of Kalamaja and the Sakala Private School

L’nyavskiy-Ekelund

Siiner

2017

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Policy and pedagogical pliability: Enrichment in Võro-language revitalization in Estonia

Brown

2018

Multilingua

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This article explores policy and pedagogical pliability as strategies for perpetuating and protecting regional languages, like Võro, in the twenty-first century. The concept of pliability, as I develop it in this article, refers to the flexibility and adaptability of policies that are free from prescriptive and strict mandates. By examining this case from Estonia, I posit that the notion of enrichment plays a significant role in shaping the pliability and durability of contemporary Estonian regional-language policy. Whether an intentional or accidental approach on the part of Võro-language supporters, an emphasis on enrichment effectively helps to position the regional-language speakers with the national majority and establish proximity to their political and cultural interests. The data for this analysis were gathered during a diachronic, qualitative yearlong, school-based ethnography of Võro-language teachers in southeastern Estonia in 2001–2002 and 2013–2014. As a result of this ethnographic analysis, I find that enrichment as an ideology carries significant implications across macro and micro levels of language planning for revitalization including contributing to the curtailment of possibilities for long-term legal recognition for the language, perpetuating a classroom emphasis on oral skills over written skills, and emphasizing the arts- and performance-based value of language learning. The article concludes with lessons learned from the pliability of policy and pedagogy for language revitalization efforts elsewhere in Europe and beyond.

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Policy Drag & Resiliency: Teachers’ Response to Voluntary Language Policy in Southeastern Estonia

Cited by 2 publications

References 24 publications

Fostering Social Inclusion through Multilingual Habitus in Estonia: A Case Study of the Open School of Kalamaja and the Sakala Private School

Fostering Social Inclusion through Multilingual Habitus in Estonia: A Case Study of the Open School of Kalamaja and the Sakala Private School

Policy and pedagogical pliability: Enrichment in Võro-language revitalization in Estonia

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