Case Study 4. Towards a multilingual model of education in the Basque Country

Abstract

Euskera or Basque is an isolated language that shares official status with Spanish in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC), also known as the Basque Country or Euskadi, as well as in the north of the Autonomous Community of Navarra in Spain. The sociolinguistic reality of Euskadi has undergone substantial changes in the last half-century. As a direct consequence of this, its educational system has been adapted in order to respond to a plural and varied linguistic landscape. The present case study discusses the manner in which the Basque educational system has aligned dynamically with the sociolinguistic changes that have taken place in Euskadi over recent decades, with a special focus on changes in language allocation strategies within schools. These changes have been accelerated and become more marked since the end of the 20th century, when sociopolitical circumstances within Spain affected the use and expansion, and even enhanced the legal position of Basque.