Performative bilingual policy: an analysis of two Taiwanese White Papers on international education

Yu Chih Li*, Bob Lingard, Vicente Reyes, Sam Sellar

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

In 2011, the Taiwanese Ministry of Education issued a policy on the internationalisation of schooling. The policy assumes that being ‘international’ has become necessary in order to maintain economic competitiveness in a globalising world. It was published in two languages: Mandarin, the official language in Taiwan, and English, presupposed as a lingua franca. Treating ‘policy as discourse’, the article analyses internationalism and its performativity through the publication and specific textual construction of this policy. The analysis considers the layout, target readerships, conceptual translation, and spatial representation and construction of ‘Chineseness’ in the two policy texts. This attempt at internationalisation is related to the very specific historical and geopolitical conditions of Taiwan and its liminal position in the globe. The significance of the article rests in expanding ideas of ‘translation’ in education policy studies and in the analysis of the specific geopolitics of East Asia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)253-268
Number of pages16
JournalCompare
Volume53
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

Keywords

  • international education
  • performative
  • postcolonialism
  • Taiwan
  • translation

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