Edge Hill University
Deficit based language discourse in education policy and practice
Recent research has highlighted how deficit perceptions of language that privilege standardised forms of dominant language are written into education policies with negative consequences for racialised students and their teachers (Badwan, 2021; Cushing, 2023a; Rosa and Flores, 2017; Welply, 2022). This paper seeks to critically explore how discourses of linguistic deficiency are perpetrated and perpetuated in education policies in England, and how they impact upon the lived experiences of marginalised students and their teachers. From a critical perspective it is important to examine how these discourses are enacted through practice (Ball, 2012) and how they shape students’ and teachers’ subjectivity. Based on a literature review, this presentation will discuss scholarship which addresses the relationship between globalisation, neoliberalism and their influence on language education policy making. Building from this important context setting, the paper offers a:
• Survey of key literature which targets policy discourses of standardised English.
• Critical analysis of literature addressing surveillance of language practice in secondary schools/FE settings.
• Consideration of literature which addresses language injustices concluding by identifying gaps in knowledge and research highlighted by this review.