Stakeholders’ Roles in Education Language Policy Research in West Africa: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of West Africa-based language policy and practice (LPP) research, examining ethnographic and participatory action research from the last 15 years. These methodologies are of particular importance given their social justice orientation and the manner in which they prioritize the research participants throughout the research process, an important consideration given the historical, sociocultural, sociopolitical and post-colonial context of this region. Examining the literature provides valuable lessons for development agency personnel and researchers alike. This paper calls readers to reconsider how we include stakeholders in our work and research endeavors, and to what extent these initiatives allow stakeholders to influence and advance their contexts. Readers are invited to reconsider to what degree research serves to capacitate or restrict the same stakeholders that development efforts intend to reach.