Understanding parental agency in family language policies from language-as-resource ideology perspective: the case of three Shanghainese families

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated three local Shanghainese families’ family language policy with a special focus on understanding parental agency through the perspective of parents’ language ideology. Data for this study came from semi-structured interviews with one parent from each family. A process combining deductive and inductive analysis captured the (sub)dimensions of language-as-resource ideology identified from the parents’ data, followed by relating their language-as-resource ideology to the identified language practice and language management. The study found that parental agentic efforts are carried out on two levels: the negotiations of the family linguistic environment and the allocation of educational resources for language learning. The study further argues that the parental agency is essentially parents’ conscious decision-making on whether to follow, alter, or complement the linguistic environment that the larger society offers for the children’s multilingual development. Parents’ ideological beliefs on what kind of language resources they wish their children to obtain, prioritising accessing social resources and citizenship resources, guide the negotiating process. The study supports elevating the status of Fangyan in Chinese society, and also suggests expanding parents’ understanding of language resources, especially from the perspectives of families and individuals.