Language, education, and development: post-colonial societies and neoliberalism

Abstract

This article assesses the position of post-colonial societies within a neoliberal paradigm through an analysis of the role of language in education and the importance of adequate academic preparation for social development. Generally, teacher–student interactions constitute the foundational substance of learning processes. Since education revolves around language, omitting the way language affects classroom instruction amounts to omitting a key factor that might impede or facilitate education. Because these interactions tend to happen around textbooks, and given that textbooks are often ideologically saturated, an analysis of interactional patterns and textbook discourses may help to assess how the education system can improve students’ academic development and the external efficiency of the system. The article makes the case for post-colonial societies to define strategic visions that are in concert with their specific needs, as opposed to being strangled into grand narratives such as neoliberalism that may be counterproductive for the growth of their societies.