Diversity, globalisation, and inequality: an ethnographic perspective on two language-in-education policy responses in Catalonia

The situated and comparative study of the implementation of two language education programmes in Catalonia during the last 15 years in two secondary schools located in working class areas has allowed us to present the main challenges that the educational community in general, but mainly teachers as those in charge of implementing these policies, have had to manage. This article is inspired by Erickson's (1987) theory of trust and legitimacy in education to account for the complexities of implementing these programmes in terms of school success or failure. The reception classrooms of the language and social cohesion plan (LIC in Catalan), aimed at including students of immigrant origin in the Catalan education system as well as the multilingual generation programme (GEP in Catalan), designed to meet the aspirations of families who believe English gives better social access possibilities for their children, require emotional and material conditions that entail consequences. Teachers participating in these programmes must build arguments that convince peers, students, and families that what they do is for the well-being of all, including the teaching centres that see how their social image gain or devalue according to the situation.