Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2011 Education Language Policy Process in Multilingual Societies: Global Visions and Local Agendas in India, Nigeria and Unesco Desmond I. Odugu Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons Recommended Citation Odugu, Desmond I., "Education Language Policy Process in Multilingual Societies: Global Visions and Local Agendas in India, Nigeria and Unesco" (2011). Dissertations. 166. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/166 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2011 Desmond I. Odugu LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO EDUCATION LANGUAGE POLICY PROCESS IN MULTILINGUAL SOCIETIES: GLOBAL VISIONS AND LOCAL AGENDAS IN INDIA, NIGERIA AND UNESCO A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY STUDIES BY DESMOND IKENNA ODUGU CHICAGO, IL MAY 2011 Copyright by Desmond Ikenna Odugu, 2011 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing a dissertation involves several people whose roles are often difficult to define. As with this dissertation research, writing a befitting acknowledgment here runs the risk of ambiguity since the often unnoticed services of the several people that shaped the overall outcome of my work are not easily captured in words. Thus, it is with profound respect that I acknowledge, in no specific order, some of these vital forces behind my intellectual and moral growth through this dissertation process. Prof. Erwin H. Epstein, my dissertation supervisor, has been my mentor and friend throughout most of my graduate education at Loyola University Chicago. His intellectual rigor, knack for details, caring heart, and high expectations continue to be the sharp chisels against which the rough edges of my intellectual dispositions are smoothened out. His wise counsel helped me to transcend the toughest challenges of this work. In addition, my other dissertation committee members, Dr. Noah Sobe and Dr. Suzette Speight, constantly fired my thinking in pursuit of greater clarity. I thank most profoundly, Fr. Michael Garanzini, the President of Loyola University Chicago, and the Council of Regents, for generously funding my graduate education. My parents and siblings have been very patient and understanding in their iii demands of my time and resources. For those times they feigned interest in my subject (to enable me talk unendingly about my research) or allowed me to convert them into passionate advocates of multilingualism in education, I remain eternally grateful. My mother, Catherine E. Odugu waited patiently for the completion of this project. Mom, I trust you smile on this work as you rest peacefully. My deep appreciation goes to the participants in this study in New Delhi (India), Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja (Nigeria), and Paris, as well as those who introduced me to these wonderful partners. Dr. Daggubati Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education) instantaneously authorized my research in India and designated capable staff at MHRD to provide all the assistance I needed. My conversations with Prof. Babs Fafunwa, former Minister of Education, Nigeria, gave clearer historical orientation to my research. Dr. Leslie Limage put me in contact with all relevant personnel at the UNESCO Paris headquarters. In addition to a wonderful conversation, Prof. Michael Omolewa and the staff at the UNESCO Archives provided excellent materials that grounded my thinking about UNESCO’s position on my subject. International experts on language policy research, Prof. Ayo Bamgbose and Prof. C. J. Daswani, also provided critical primary sources in addition to illuminating conversations. Prof. Anil Sadgopal offered a critical conceptual map for my work in India. Your thoughtfulness during this research emboldens my commitment to our collective search for explanations to and transformations of the policy-related issues of language in the education of millions of multilinguals in our linguistically diverse world. Thank you! iv To Mom, Lolo Catherine E. Odugu TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER ONE: ENDURING ISSUES, DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN EDUCATION LANGUAGE POLICY IN MULTILINGUAL SOCIETIES 1 Why India and Nigeria—and UNESCO? 3 Enduring Issues of Education Language Policy in Multilingual Societies 8 Education Language Policy as Dynamic Process 19 Conceptual Caveats: Globalization, Postcolonialism and the Global- Local Divide 22 Restating the Research Problem 26 Significance and Relevance of Study 30 Overview of Research 36 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE: IDEOLOGY, ECOLOGY, AGENCY, AND THE EVOLUTION OF THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LANGUAGE POLICY SCHOLARSHIP 41 Theoretical Perspectives on Language Policies and Planning 44 Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives on Language Policy and Planning 44 Early Language Policy and Planning as Social Practice and Academic Enterprise 46 Phases in Language Policy and Planning 48 Recent Theoretical Developments in Language Policy and Planning 58 Integrative Framework for Language Policy and Planning 59 Ideology, Ecology, and Agency in Language Policy and Planning 65 CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: LANGUAGE, POWER, AND SOCIAL RELATIONS, AND THE HEURISTICS OF HEGEMONY AND MUTUAL INTERACTIONISM 72 Language, Knowledge and Power in Social Relations 76 vi Hegemony and Mutual Interactionism in Education Language Policy Processes 87 Hegemony Theories 90 Mutual Interactionism 95 Hegemony and Mutual Interactionism as Heuristics for Education Language Policy Analysis 102 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES 107 Research Design, Methodology and Strategies 108 Comparative Case Design 112 Critical Ethnography 117 Methodological Strategies: Interview, Participant Observation, Document Analysis 121 In-depth Interviewing: Dialogic Interface with Data 122 Participant Observation: Strategic Plot for Integrated Interview Experience 125 Document Analysis: Mining the Historical, Engaging the Substance 127 Data Analysis Protocol 128 Deconstructing Spaces and Framing Agents as Data Sources 134 Localizing the Inquiry: Research Sites as Education Language Policy Spaces 135 From Research Sites to Participants 139 Characterizing Data Sources as Multilayered and Interpenetrative 142 Data Collection as Dialogic, Reflexive and Interpretive 146 Gaining Access to and Engaging Data Sources 146 New Delhi, India 148 Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria 152 UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France 157 Data Collection Protocols: Dialogic Interview as Dynamic Interactive Tool 160 Focused Life History: Participants’ Background, Historical and Social Context 160 Experience in Education Language Policy 163 Reflection and Inter-reflexivity on Experiences in Education Language Policy 166 Rethinking Research Design: Conceptual and Methodological Limitations 169 vii CHAPTER FIVE: HISTORICAL ORIGINS AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES OF EDUCATION LANGUAGE POLICIES PROCESS IN INDIA 181 Conceptual Considerations for Historical Narratives of India and Nigeria 186 India: Historical Origins of Diversity and Multilingualism 189 State, Language and Education: Multilingualism and Schooling in India 203 Educational Language Policy Process: Results from Interviews and Participant Observations in India 214 Key Research Findings from India: A Summary View 215 Vignettes of Education Language Policy Process 217 Emergent Issues in Vignettes of Results from India 233 CHAPTER SIX: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO MULTILINGUALISM AND EDUCATION LANGUAGE POLICY PROCESS IN NIGERIA 236 Nsibidi: An Ancient Literary Tradition in Nigeria 237 Nigeria: Origins of Diversity and Linguistic Heterogeneity 242 Official Language and Education in Multilingual Nigeria 257 Education Language Policy Process: Results from Interviews and Participant Observations in Nigeria 261 Key Research Findings from Nigeria: A Summary View 262 Vignettes of Education Language Policy Process 264 Emerging Issues from Vignettes of Results from Nigeria 280 CHAPTER SEVEN: MULTILINGUALISM AND EDUCATION IN INDIA AND NIGERIA AND THE ROLE OF UNESCO 283 UNESCO and Multilingual Education Policies in Multilingual Societies 284 Vignettes of Education Language Policy Process at UNESCO 291 Issues from Vignettes of Interviews at UNESCO 302 Multilingualism and Education in India and Nigeria: A Comparative Overview 304 CHAPTER EIGHT: STYMIED POLICIES AND DYNNAMIC PROCESSES: DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ON EDUCATION LANGUAGE POLICY 312 Key Considerations for Understanding Research Findings 313 Redefining the Conceptual Map of Education Language Policy 315 Historical Considerations in Contemporary ELP in India and Nigeria 320 Education Language Policy: Stymied Policies, Dynamic Processes 332 Disincentives for Comprehensive Language Reform: Issues of Pragmatic Compromise, Dynamic Developments, and Grassroots Compensation 334 Interrogating Explanations of Stagnancy and Dynamic Activities in Education Language Policy Processes 342 viii Education Language Policy as Dynamic Ongoing