Abstract:
Language Across the Curriculum (LAC) as an educational movement was initiated in the mid-sixties by practitioners in response to the need that they saw for all teachers to recognise and respond to the pivotal role that language plays in education. Since then LAC has received considerable academic support, and official recognition in a number of English speaking countries. A case study research project carried out in New Zealand looked at the ways in which schools developed policies for LAC in response to their particular language contexts (McPherson and Corson, 1989). Policy development was marked by teachers' willingness to participate in debate, discussion and self-reflection. However, during the research, equity emerged as perhaps the most contentious and difficult area of policy development. The process of policy development highlighted specific concerns regarding equity provision for particular groups in schools, and also raised questions about the potential of LAC, as it was conceptualised within the research, to address the relationship between language and power and contribute to establishing a basis for more equitable education.