Language Education Policy and Multilingual Literacies
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LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY AND MULTILINGUAL LITERACIES IN UGANDAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS by Juliet Hirome Tembe B.A. Makerere University, Kampala, 1978 M.Ed. Makerere University, Kampala, 1988 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Teaching English as a Second Language) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) June 2008 © Juliet Hirome Tembe, 2008 ABSTRACT This thesis reports on a study on multilingual language policies conducted in two primary schools in two communities in eastern Uganda, one rural and one urban, from 2005-2006. The study focused on stakeholders' responses to the new Uganda language education policy, which promotes the teaching of local languages in the first four years of schooling. The policy states that the medium of instruction is the relevant local language for Primary 1-4 in rural schools, and thereafter it is English. In the urban schools, English is the medium of instruction in all the classes and a local language is to be taught as a subject. The study was premised within the framework of literacy as a social practice. Accordingly, the context in which multilingual literacy develops is important to the implementation of Uganda's new language education policy. The key stakeholders identified in the implementation process included: the ministry representatives at the district level, the school administration, the teachers, and the community. The study used questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations, focus group discussions, and document analysis to collect data from the two communities, each of which was linked to a local primary school. Although the findings show that in both communities the participants were generally aware of the new local language policy, they were ambivalent about its implementation in their schools. While they recognized the importance of local languages in promoting identity and cultural maintenance, a higher priority was their children's upward mobility, and the desire to be part of wider and more international communities. Further, while area languages like Luganda and regional languages like Kiswahili were perceived to have some benefits as languages of wider communication, it was English that received unequivocal support from both communities. The study concludes that parents and communities need to be better informed about the pedagogical advantages of instruction in the local language, and that communities need convincing evidence that the promotion of local languages will not compromise desires for global citizenship. Therefore, drawing in particular on the work of Stein in South Africa, I argue that we need to consider "re-sourcing resources" to create space in which teachers and other stakeholders can enhance children's multilingual literacy development. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii List of Tables x List of Figures xi List of Acronyms xii Acknowledgements xiv Dedication xvii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1 LO Background 1 1.1 Uganda's new language education policy 1 1.2 The Ugandan Context 4 1.2.1 Overview of Uganda's education system 6 1.2.2 Primary education in Uganda 8 1.2.3 The new Primary School Curriculum 8 1.3 Purpose of study 13 1.4 Research questions 15 1.5 Significance of the study 16 1.6 Researcher background 19 1.7 Limitations of the Study 21 1.8 Overview of thesis 21 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 24 2.0 Introduction 24 2.1 Literature Review 25 2.1.1 Language policy and planning 25 2.1.2 Definitions and perspectives of language policy and planning 26 2.1.3 Developments in language policy and planning 28 2.1.4. Types of language policies 33 2.1.5 Language policy in multilingual contexts 34 2.1.6 Language policy and medium of instruction 37 2.2 Bilingualism and bilingual language education policy 40 2.2.1 Defining bilingual education 40 2.2.2 Bilingualism and bilingual language education 42 2.2.3 Current debates in bilingual education 44 2.3 Language policy and literacy development 50 2.3.1 Literacy and language of instruction 50 2.3.2 Language, literacy, and international development 53 2.3.3 Multilingual literacies in Uganda 57 2.4 Theoretical framework 60 2.4.1 Language and literacy as social practice 60 2.4.2 Language and literacy as resource 64 2.4.3 The continua of biliteracy model 67 2.5 Summary 70 CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 71 3.0 Introduction 71 3.1 Epistemological background and methods 71 3.2 Data collection and analysis 75 3.3 Study sites 76 3.3.1 Bugagga Rural Primary School profile 76 3.3.2 Tiriri Urban Primary School profile 80 3.4 The participants in the study 81 3.4.1 The Ministry of Education representatives 82 3.4.2 The school administration 83 3.4.3 Teachers 84 3.4.4 Community members 85 3.5 Educational Standards Agency (ESA) 86 3.6 The school routine and participants at Bugagga Rural Primary School 87 3.6.1 The school routine 88 3.6.2 The District Education Officer - Butaleja District 88 3.6.3 The headmaster 89 3.6.4 The teachers 90 3.6.5 The community participants 91 3.7 The school culture and participants at Tiriri Urban Primary School 94 3.7.1 The school culture 94 3.7.2 The District Education Officer - Tororo District 95 3.7.3 The headmaster 95 3.7.4 The teachers' profiles 96 3.7.5 The community participants 100 3.8 Instruments for data collection 102 3.8.1 Questionnaires 102 3.8.2 Interviews 104 3.8.3 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) 105 3.8.4 Direct classroom observations 106 3.8.5 Document analysis 108 3.9 Research process 108 3.10 Ethical considerations 109 3.11 Summary 110 CHAPTER FOUR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVES AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Ill 4.0 Introduction Ill 4.1 The Education Standards Agency (ESA) 112 4.2 Bugagga Rural Primary School 114 4.2.1 The District Education Officer, Butaleja District 114 4.2.2 The headmaster, Bugagga Rural Primary School 117 4.3 Tiriri Urban Primary School 119 4.3.1 The District Education Officer, Tororo District 119 4.3.2 The headmaster, Tiriri Urban Primary School 122 4.4 Analysis and discussion 126 4.4.1 Contradictory pronouncements concerning policy implementation 126 4.4.2 A disconnect between formal policy as stated and stakeholder interpretation 129 4.4.3 Inadequate infrastructure to facilitate implementation of the policy 130 4.5 Summary 134 CHAPTER FIVE LANGUAGE POLICY AND CLASSROOM TEACHERS 136 5.0 Introduction 136 5.1. Bugagga Rural Primary School 137 5.1.1 Primary 1 - Teacher Andrea Mudondo 137 5.1.2 Primary 2 - Teacher Eileen Blinda 142 5.1.3 Primary 3- Teacher Marcia Namulinda 146 5.2. Tiriri Urban Primary school 147 5.2.1 Primary 1 - Teacher Karen Abbo 147 5.2.2 Primary 2 - Teacher Petrina Kakala 151 5.2.3 Primary 3 B - Teacher Helen Naigobya 153 5.2.4 Primary 3 C - Teacher Gabriel Okong 154 5.3 Analysis and discussion 156 5.3.1 Mother tongue as a resource 157 5.3.2 Use of songs 159 5.3.3 Linguistic strategies for classroom management 161 5.3.4 Code switching 163 5.4 Summary 165 CHAPTER SIX LANGUAGE POLICY AND COMMUNITY RESPONSE 169 6.0 Introduction 169 6.1 The rural community of Bugagga Rural Primary School 169 6.1.1 Language profile and practices of the community 170 6.1.2 Awareness of language policy 171 6.1.3 Insights on school language practices 174 6.1.4 Language as resource 175 6.2 The community of Tiriri Urban Primary School 178 6.2.1 Preference for English 179 6.2.3 Ambivalence towards Kiswahih 183 6.3 Analysis 185 6.3.1 Ambivalence towards teaching local languages 187 6.3.2 EngHsh as an international language 188 6.3.3 The hegemony of Luganda 189 6.3.4 Kiswahili as a national language 191 6.3.5 Language of assessment 192 6.4 Discussion 192 6.5 Summary 196 CHAPTER SEVEN SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 197 7.0 Introduction 197 7.1 Summary of findings 197 7.2 Implications of the findings 204 7.2.1 Theoretical contributions 204 7.2.2 Implications for policy 206 7.2.3 Implications for practice 207 7.2.4 Future research directions 208 7.3 Recommendations 209 7.3.1 Professional training 209 7.3.2 Curriculum review and attitude change 210 7.3.3 Materials development 210 7.3.4 Status language planning 211 7.3.5 Public education 212 REFERENCES 213 Appendix A: Aims and objectives of primary education 238 Appendix B: Questionnaire/interview guide for the headmaster 240 Appendix C: Questionnaire for the teachers 243 Appendix D: Interview protocol for the teachers 246 Appendix E: Community protocol 247 Appendix F: Classroom observation schedule 250 Appendix G: A map of TUPS classroom blocks - Tiriri Urban Primary School 251 Appendix H: Primary One grade A classroom plan (TUPS) 252 Appendix I: Primary Two grade C classroom plan (TUPS) 253 Appendix J: Primary Three grade B classroom plan (TUPS) 254 Appendix K: Primary Three grade C classroom plan (TUPS) 255 Appendix L: BREB Certificate 256 List of Tables Table 1.1: Summary of language policy for education 4 Table 3.1: Instruments and sources of data collection 74 Table 3.2: BRPS - Number of grades & pupils in each class 78 Table 3.3: TUPS - Number of grades per class 81 Table 3.4: Bio-data of the participating Teachers 90 Table 3.5: Participants who responded to the questionnaire 92 Table 3.6: Participants' characteristics for Focus Group One held in October 2005 93 Table 3.7: Participants' characteristics for FGD Two held in October 2005 94 Table 3.8: TUPS-Teachers' bio data 97 Table 3.9: Languages spoken as mother tongue by Primary 1 pupils 98 Table 3.10: Languages spoken as mother t ongue by the pupils in Primary 2 99 Table 3.11 : Languages