Emergence and Development of a Research Area in Language Education Policies: Our Contribution to Setting the Grounds for a Local Perspective on Policymaking

Main Article Content

Carmen Helena Guerrero-Nieto
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4011-788X
Álvaro Hernán Quintero-Polo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0315-8802

Abstract

This article presents our narration of the emergence and development of a research area about the teaching and learning of the English language in Colombia and the creation of a research group named Critical Studies of Colombian Education Policies. The narration includes a description of the bilingual education policy in Colombia and a literature review of how the themes Different Shades of the Colombian National Plan of Bilingualism and Theoretical and Practical Concerns over Bilingualism have been addressed by authors of local journals, such as How, Profile, Íkala, and Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, in the issues published from 2008 to 2020. The description and literature review link the life stories of our growth as teachers and researchers as related to the research area and research group mentioned above. A final part of the narration refers to our contributions to the ELT field in Colombia through the following two themes: Dimensions of Language Policies: A Political Discourse Perspective and Making Teachers’ Agency Relevant: Bottom-up Approaches to the Study of Language Education Policies.

Article Details

How to Cite
Guerrero-Nieto, C. H., & Quintero-Polo, Álvaro H. . (2021). Emergence and Development of a Research Area in Language Education Policies: Our Contribution to Setting the Grounds for a Local Perspective on Policymaking . HOW, 28(3), 119–133. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.28.3.677
Section
Reflections and Revision of Themes
Author Biographies

Carmen Helena Guerrero-Nieto, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

She is a full professor at Universidad Distrital. She is faculty in the Ed.D program and in the MA program in Communication Education. Her research interests and publications are in critical pedagogy, critical discourse analysis, bilingualism, and teacher education. Her work has aimed at voicing English teachers’ concerns, experiences and interests in relation to educational policies. She is the main researcher of the group Critical Studies on Educational Policies.

Álvaro Hernán Quintero-Polo, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

He holds a Doctorate in Education and a MA in applied linguistics. He is a full professor of Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas (Colombia). His areas of interest are language teacher education, critical discourse studies, and educational policies. He is codirector of the research group ESTUPOLI.

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