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Bilingual Education Theater: Behind the scenes of Latvian minority education reform

Focusing on the political nature of education policy making in the post-Soviet context, this paper questions whether, how and to what extent the bilingual education reform under way in Latvia contributes to social integration among different ethnolinguistic groups. The paper begins by tracing the emergence and institutionalization of bilingual education reform in light of long-term education development trends prevalent during the 1990s. Based on press analysis, document review, and in-depth interviews with major education stakeholders in Latvia, it reveals that there exists a growing disjunction between 'policy-talk', 'policy action' and 'policy implementation', resulting in the legitimization of education spaces that once were and continue to be functional, hierarchical and divisive.