Resumen de Exploring New Methodological and Theoretical Directions: Using a ‘toolbox’ to study the conflict in England’s Language Reform Movements, 1979-1997
This article is, in part, a response to the question raised by Marc Depaepe: What kind of history of education may we expect for the twenty-first century? It presents a methodological and theoretical ‘tool-box’ that was compiled by the author to investigate two language reform movements – Language Awareness (LA) and Knowledge About Language (KAL) – under the Conservatives, 1979-1997. Specifically, the author sought to answer the following research questions: a) What were the motives of the planners and policy makers? b) What was LA and KAL exactly, and how were they modified over time? and c) Why were both reforms resisted? The author argues different toolboxes are needed to answer different questions about history. To answer the above questions, the author selected ‘tools’ drawn from Michel Foucault’s approach to the history of ideas; Norman Fairclough’s approach in Critical Discourse Analysis; Dennis Ager’s classification of national language planning and policy; and Basil Bernstein’s theory of the Pedagogic Device. An overview of each is outlined, which also covers which features of their methodological approach or theory were employed and were rejected. The article is concludes with a delineation of the tools’ limitations.
