ABSTRACT
I begin the chapter by pointing at the complexity of the relationship between the two forces mentioned above, namely, top-down and bottom-up and argue for complexity of the act of policymaking which involves multiple stakeholders beyond governments and schools, all engaged in some way or another in the act of policymaking and practice. This process is far more complex than the association often attributed to the process as two opposing linear forces. Examples of stakeholders include teachers, test makers, principals, textbook writers and publishers, testing agencies, parents, school board members, and researchers. Stakeholders include students as well, as it is often in their power to comply or resist policies as manifested in learning. All these stakeholders need to be viewed as “policymakers” who are deeply engaged in the act of creating and reacting to educational policies. “Real” language policymaking is a synthesis of these forces as they are all deeply engaged in explicit or implicit interpretations and negotiations of the policies in very complex ways. There is a need, therefore, for a deeper understanding of the process through which language policies are made and their outcomes generated.
