English Language Policy in Bedouin Secondary Schools: A Qualitative Case Study of Rahat

Abstract

Language-in-education policy is viewed as an agent of social mobility and equity in multilingual societies. However, its practices tend to produce linguistic hierarchies that threaten minority learners. This qualitative case study examined the adoption and institutional mediation of national English language education policy in Bedouin secondary schools in Rahat. The research analyzes the interaction between policy expectations, academic practices, and local sociolinguistic contexts through semi-structured interviews with teachers, students, and policymakers using a lens of Spolsky’s model of language policy, Shohamy’s critique of language policy, and Hornberger’s biliteracy. Results show that policy discourse remains disconnected from classroom practice, such as test-driven instruction, structural under-resourcing, and the exclusion of students’ multilingual repertoires. In this sense, English functions as a gatekeeping policy that shapes the trajectory of learning and contributes to cumulative educational stratification. Teachers use localized and/or contextualized pedagogical adaptations as an effort to reduce exclusion but these are informal and unsupported. In laying out the experience of Bedouin educators and students, this research provides new insight into English gatekeeping that is process-driven and contributes to international debates on language policy, multilingual education, and educational justice for the marginalized.