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Ethnography of Language Policy

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Research Methods in Language and Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

This chapter explores the history, development, and role of ethnographic research in understanding de facto and de jure language policies. With its roots in anthropology, ethnography is characterized by the contextualization of cultural and linguistic phenomena and close attention to participants’ point of view. This chapter begins by framing ethnographic research in terms of its distinct ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions. The chapter then locates ethnographic approaches to language policy in the complementary fields of educational and linguistic anthropology and socio-educational linguistics. This is followed by an examination of key issues and findings emanating from these disciplinary fields and an exploration of core areas of new research, including critical ethnographic, sociocultural approaches to language education planning and policy, and ethnographic studies of educators as de facto language policymakers. Final sections address the implications of this work for pedagogy, policy, and praxis. Returning to Hymes’s (1980) call for an ethnographic science that is reflexive, critical, and democratizing, the authors argue for ethnographic research that engages and works to dismantle persistent linguistic inequalities in education.

This chapter is adapted from McCarty, T. L. (2015). Ethnography in educational linguistics. In M. Bigelow & J. Ennser-Kananen (eds.), The Routledge handbook of educational linguistics (pp. 23–37). New York, NY: Routledge (used with permission).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, University of California Los Angeles, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1521, USA

    Teresa L. McCarty & Lu Liu

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  1. Teresa L. McCarty
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  2. Lu Liu
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Correspondence to Teresa L. McCarty or Lu Liu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Second Languages and Cultures Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

    Kendall King

  2. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Yi-Ju Lai

  3. Faculty of Education, University of Auckland, School of Critic, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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McCarty, T.L., Liu, L. (2016). Ethnography of Language Policy. In: King, K., Lai, YJ., May, S. (eds) Research Methods in Language and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02329-8_4-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02329-8_4-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02329-8

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