Diversity, equity and inclusion in theory and practice: Critical analysis of curricula for teaching and learning Serbian as a second or a heritage language in the 21st
century
The fast changing global social, political, and ecological landscape has forced policy makers and teachers of
lesser-taught languages, such as Serbian, to rethink the positioning of these languages in national and international contexts. In
this study, we explore the role of curriculum for teaching and learning Serbian as a foreign, second, heritage language (SFL2HL)
as constraining or inhibiting factor in the design and implementation of inclusive language education. Through a multiple case
study we investigate de jure language education policies and their de facto outcomes among three
groups of learners: victims of forced transnational migrations (especially focusing on the migrant crisis and the “Balkan route”
which has been active roughly since 2015 onwards); members of the Serbian diaspora communities who view their heritage language as
an important facet of their individual and collective cultural identity; and voluntary migrants from non-European parts of the
world to Serbia in search of high quality university education. Within the framework of critical pedagogy and critical discourse
analysis, an examination of relevant documents and official websites is triangulated with insiders’ interpretations obtained
through in-depth interviews and an autoethnographic account. Our findings indicate that effective SFL2HL learning and teaching
across diverse contexts requires a highly flexible curriculum created though a bottom-up approach if it intends to address and
respond to the needs and interests of all stakeholders. This aligns with both human rights principles, ensuring equitable and
inclusive access to education, and democratic principles, emphasizing the equal participation of all stakeholders in the
curriculum development and implementation process.
Language learning and language use have long been recognized as crucial human activities with significant social implications
(Vez, 2008). More specifically, language is understood and valued as a complex system
framing and governing social existence and interaction in private, public, educational, and professional domains of human
communication. In the same vein, language education policy and planning (henceforth LEP) has been identified as one of the key
instruments of assuring access to and quality of language education for all. At the end of the 20th century, the Salamanca
Statement, supported by UNESCO and signed in 1994, recognized the fundamental right to
quality education of every child, respecting their uniqueness and needs, with the recommendation to education systems to design varied
sets of curricula which would suit the interests and abilities of each and every student. It “endorsed the idea of inclusive education
and advocated universalism and international standards of social justice for all individuals” (Ydesen & Daniels, 2024, p. 1). In this paradigm, inclusive education is understood as a response to and responsibility
for every individual whose uniqueness is the result of simply being human, “a specific variable with an objective reality that needs
to be considered” (Tamim, 2021, p. 6) in relation to any educational decision and action.
In that sense, inclusion represents an underlying, fundamental principle in education (and elsewhere) that guarantees recognition and
adequate support to the development and wellbeing of every individual.
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