A glocalized bilingual policy implementation in a junior high school in Taiwan

Bilingual education is burgeoning in Asia, and most bilingual practices are impacted by national language policies. However, top-down policy implementation and bottom-up practices may spark mismatches, constraints, or possibilities. Taiwan was selected as a research context to investigate the perceptions of administrators and teachers (including subject teachers and both native and non-native teachers of English) at a junior high school. Building on Ricento and Hornberger’s language policy and planning framework proposed in 1996, this paper examines to what extent the school implemented these policies and discusses the interplay between the administrators’ and teachers’ policy implementation and the underlying forces that fuel policy implementation. The data revealed a three-dimensional model of schoolwide policy implementation (i.e. the individual, team, and organisation levels) that impacted and synergised one another. The synergy and pedagogical innovation of the professional learning community are crucial to a school’s reform. The authors conclude with implications for policy and practice.