Educating Supranational Citizens: The Incorporation of English Language Education into Curriculum Policies

Abstract

This study investigates the cross-national institutionalization of English as a regular school subject over the past century and discusses how the rise of English as a global language in today's curricular policy models around the world reflects an expansive conception of supranational citizenship. Our extensive comparative and historical data suggest that substantive societal characteristics of individual countries have played fairly insignificant roles in the rapid diffusion of English language education, especially in the past half century. This result sheds light on the institutionalist perspective in which the worldwide spread of English language education is understood to reflect universalistic nation-state purposes and principles of education that emphasize the empowerment of the individual in global society.