Watch the vCIES Welcome Video
|

Examining Language Policy in Moroccan Public Education: Towards a More Diverse and Socially Equitable Education

Abstract

 Presenter (s) Alexandro Gonzalez-Calvillo, The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Title Examining Language Policy in Moroccan Public Education: Towards a More Diverse and Socially Equitable Education
PDF Click Here
Tags , , , , , , ,

Language policy in Moroccan public education has been a highly debated and controversial issue given the nation’s complex history (Boutieri, 2016; Tomaštík, 2010; Zouhir, 2014). Currently, the Moroccan state recognizes two official languages: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Tamazight, the local indigenous language. While language instruction at the primary and secondary levels of public education is largely limited to MSA, higher education shows a greater degree of flexibility. Most Moroccan public universities use French as the language of instruction for STEM subjects and MSA for subjects in the humanities and the arts (Spolsky, 2018). This language dichotomy prevails in most of the Moroccan public sector, where French exists as the de facto official language of communication for business, government and science professions (Boutieri, 2016).

During the French Protectorate, the majority of the population had limited access to formal education, and the imposed language policy at all levels of education resulted in the creation of a wealthy and literate ruling minority (DeGorge, 2002; Salhi, 2010). Following independence, the state adopted the policy of Arabization which placed greater emphasis on MSA as a medium of instruction in public education. Arabization, however, was largely backed up by conservative, nationalist parties and gave rise to an additional elite minority (Zouhir, 2014).

In 2016, King Mohamed VI officially repealed Arabization, and bilingual (MSA and French) education was formally recognized at the tertiary level of public education. While the gradual abandonment of Arabization in all levels of Moroccan public education may have tried to modernize the country and create a more equal footing for all linguistic groups in Morocco, the country still faces the challenge of adopting a comprehensive language policy in public education that takes into consideration its various multicultural and multilingual societies (Alalou, 2018). Additionally, with the introduction of Tamazight as an official language, the government charged itself with the responsibility of adopting an inclusive linguistic policy that recognizes and promotes “diverse Moroccan cultural expressions” which ultimately “constitute [the nation’s] one authentic patrimony” (Article 5, Title 1, Moroccan Constitution, 2011). However, as Zouhir (2014) notes, despite the state’s official recognition of Tamazight and increasing pressure from various cultural movements in the country, the implementation of a multilingual policy remains a large challenge in Morocco.

This presentation provides a literature review of the history and development of language instruction in Moroccan public education, beginning with the French Protectorate, and ending with the failure of Arabization. This presentation examines the major challenges that have prevented the Moroccan state from adopting a language policy for public education that promotes greater social equity and positive student learning experiences. In doing so, this presentation highlights some of the challenges and implications of the emerging global trend of education policies that seek to bridge multiple perspectives and knowledge. The findings from this presentation raise additional questions about the role that language instruction plays on student learning experiences, and how national governments representing multicultural and multilingual societies can promote policies that empower and give agency to all of their citizens.

Alexandro Gonzalez-Calvillo is an MPA/MA in International Education Management dual-degree candidate at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. A few of his academic and professional interests include diversity and inclusion initiatives in study abroad, educational language policy in multicultural and multilingual societies, and environmental sustainability literacy in international education.

To contact Alexandro Gonzalez-Calvillo, send an email to ahgonzalez2@gmail.com.

37 Responses

  1. Stephanie
    Reply

    This is some very interesting work! I find it interesting to learn about how different multilingual systems work. It is intriguing that the different levels of education are done in different languages. What sort of inequalities does this cause? How are students impacted throughout their learning process if their foundation education is in one language, then they move to a second language, and their university is conduced in a third language. Additionally, if they are changing the languages throughout the levels, is there language support given for the next level to help prepare students as they move forward? This was very interesting to read!

  3. 먹튀검증
    Reply

    Thank you for the definite information. They were really helpful to me, who had just been put into related work. And thank you for recommending other useful blogs that I might be interested in. I’ll tell you where to help me, too. 먹튀검증

Leave a Reply

Related

Strategies for Cultivating and Assessing Critical Thinking in sub-Saharan Africa

If human beings are to contribute to the building of a future that recognizes the interconnectedness of life on Earth and beyond, an enhanced human...
Read More

Development of Chinese Students’ Core Competence Using STEAM School-Based Curriculum Following Backward Design Theory: A Case Study

A school-based curriculum using backward design is seen useful in improving Chinese students’ core competence. This study examines this assumption to see if a STEAM...
Read More

Comparisons of «Subject talk» in Classroom Assessment – tracing Educational Policy across School Subjects and Classroom practices

Proposal In Norway, as well as in many other countries, there has been a growing focus on measurement of learning outcomes (author 2010, 2015). A...
Read More

Are Human Capital Gains from Short Cycle Higher Education (ISCED5) Relevant for Latin American Countries?

Career Technical and Vocational Higher Education. also known as short cycle higher education (ISCED 5) is important because it responds to the global demands in...
Read More