The Interface between Macro and Micro-Level Language Policy and the Place of Language Pedagogies

This paper investigates the place of pedagogy in language-in-education policy through an analysis of how the macro-level of government policy interacts with the micro-level of local educational practice. It argues that pedagogy is typically considered a micro-level activity and policy frequently devolves decision-making about pedagogy to micro-level agents. For this reason, pedagogy is often invisible in policy texts. Pedagogy becomes a concern for macro-level policy when micro-level practice is constructed as being a problem and policy seeks to intervene to reform practice. However, whether pedagogy is explicitly discussed in policy, it remains nonetheless relevant for policy implementation and ultimately for the success of policy change. The silence about pedagogy in policy texts may render invisible the capacity for pedagogical change at the micro-level and the capabilities and resources needed to effect change. The paper will examine these issues through an investigation of a series of language policy contexts in which pedagogy is either an explicit concern or it remains implicit.