Status planning and language education policy in the Commonwealth Caribbean: The case of Jamaica

Abstract

The subject of language education policy has been the source of highly contentious debates in Jamaican media, in recent years, as there have been numerous calls for and against the inclusion of Jamaican Creole in the education system. Advocates for Jamaican Creole argue that its exclusion risks the marginalization of a significant portion of the school population, while opponents of Jamaican Creole express concern about reducing the quality of education offered to students in the name of linguistic rights. Using an interpretive policy analysis approach, and by examining de facto language policies, a draft language policy, and newspaper articles, this paper seeks to determine the discourses informing status planning and mediating language education policy in Jamaica. The findings suggest that discourses about the evolution of post-independence Jamaican identity and notions of progress through education and literacy are the most influential.