Principals and teachers’ responses to the official language policy and directives in Eswatini.

Abstract

The study is located in a country that has a monarch as its ruler and he governs in his own right. At any given moment, without forewarning, a policy can be changed or a directive can be announced with the expectation that the policy and directives will be implemented. This inquiry explored principals and teachers‟ responses to the promulgation of the official language policy and subsequent directives. Studies suggest that there is need to regulate the use of languages in schools and support mothertongue education. However, there is no study which has explored the responses of the implementers of the language policy and directives in Eswatini. Teachers under the supervision of principals are expected to implement the language policy and directives without question, the same way they do not interrogate their formulation, modification and subsequent publishing. The purpose of the study was to document the principals and teachers‟ responses to the state‟s language policy and directives. The participants teach in five primary schools in the Hhohho region (government, mission, private, community and company school). The schools were purposively sampled on the basis of their location. A qualitative approach (a case study design) was used. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with each participant, and focus group discussions – one with teachers and another with principals. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. The findings, informed by Althusser‟s theory of ideology, revealed who knew about the official language policy and directives but both principals and teachers were non-compliant and did not implement the language policy and directives. Various reasons, aligned to, for example, globalization, pedagogical logic and dilemmas faced were proffered by the participants. Additionally, their non-responsiveness to the language policy and directives, which promoted cultural homogeneity, localization and isolation, was compounded by indecision and the lack of support to implement the changes to the language curriculum. Participants also expressed concerns about the lack of consultation during the language policy making process and the timing of pronouncing the directives. In essence, the study found that non-compliance was a form of quiet resistance to the state ideology.