ABSTRACT

This study investigates Spolsky's conception of language policy as the amalgam of language beliefs, language practices and language management. To the best of our knowledge, no quantitative evidence has ever been produced for his theoretical model. The current paper addressed this void, albeit specifically in the domain of Early Childhood Care and Education – scarce in terms of language policy research, but vital for children's (multilingual) language development. An Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded three valid and reliable scales that capture language policy from the perspective of early childhood professionals (N = 305) associated with infant welfare clinics in the Flemish Community of Belgium. Furthermore, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the three components are ‘independent’ as well as ‘interconnected,’ thereby quantitatively corroborating Spolsky's theory. We conclude that language policy is no unitary concept; therefore, if one intends to study language policy holistically, the three indispensable components are to be identified. As a corollary, one simply cannot investigate management without considering beliefs and practices, and vice versa.

摘要

本研究调查了斯波尔斯基的语言政策概念，即语言信仰、语言实践和语言管理的结合。据我们所知，他的理论模型还没有产生任何定量证据。当前的论文解决了这一空白，尽管特别是在幼儿保育和教育领域——在语言政策研究方面稀缺，但对儿童（多语言）语言发展至关重要。一项探索性因素分析产生了三个有效且可靠的量表，它们从幼儿专业人士的角度捕捉语言政策 ( N = 305) 与比利时佛兰芒社区的婴儿福利诊所有关。此外，验证性因素分析表明这三个组成部分是“独立的”和“相互关联的”，从而在数量上证实了斯波尔斯基的理论。我们得出结论，语言政策不是单一的概念；因此，如果打算全面研究语言政策，就必须确定三个不可或缺的组成部分。作为推论，如果不考虑信念和实践，就无法调查管理，反之亦然。