ERIC Number: EJ948949
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-8416
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Language Ideology Dimensions of Politically Active Arizona Voters: An Exploratory Study
Fitzsimmons-Doolan, Shannon
Language Awareness, v20 n4 p295-314 2011
In conjunction with other linguistic constructs, language ideologies are thought to be both components and determinants of language policies--decisions about language use at micro and macro levels. Although much work has been done towards identifying language ideology constructs in localised educational settings, the existence of such constructs in larger, more broadly distributed samples which influence educational language policy (e.g. voters) has not been verified. This study pilots (1) a survey grounded in existing language ideology research and (2) a factor analysis for identifying and exploring language ideologies expressed by a statewide sample of 218 politically active Arizona voters (Democrats and Republicans). Politically active voters are influential with respect to political decision-making, and those in Arizona have a history of encountering explicit language policies. The resulting seven-factor solution of language ideologies is presented, as is an analysis of how individual variables (i.e. political affiliation, age group, gender, and language background) differentiate factor scores along ideological dimensions. The results suggest that the surveys and factor analysis may be usefully combined with findings from qualitative research to scale-up identification and description of language ideologies among important samples of educational language policy stakeholders. (Contains 16 tables.)
Descriptors: Political Affiliation, Language Planning, Qualitative Research, Age Differences, Language Attitudes, Ideology, Factor Analysis, Measures (Individuals), Surveys, Likert Scales, Gender Differences, Native Language, Citizen Participation, Political Issues, Voting
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A