Plurilingualism for social justice: a meta-synthesis

This study examines the legislative evolution of bilingual and plurilingual education in the Valencian Community from the enactment of the Act on the Use and Teaching of Valencian (4/1983) to the recent Act 1/2024, referred to as the Educational Freedom Act. Employing a hermeneutic approach rooted in sociodidactic analysis, the research assesses whether successive educational policies have incorporated pedagogical foundations aligned with the sociolinguistic context and empirical research in language didactics. The analysis begins by tracing the development and transformation of instructional models that use two or more languages as the medium of instruction (commonly referred to as bilingual and plurilingual programs). This review highlights a trajectory of progressive alignment with European frameworks and established pedagogical principles. Subsequently, it critically compares the Act 1/2024 with prior norms using three criteria: proposed linguistic model, alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and presence of pedagogical grounding. Findings reveal a significant rupture in the latest law, which reintroduces family-driven language choice without ensuring pedagogical consistency or linguistic equity. Unlike its predecessors, Act 1/2024 lacks alignment with established didactic frameworks and European guidelines, thereby undermining previous efforts toward inclusive, evidence-based plurilingual education. The article concludes that the current legislative shift jeopardizes the structural support for the minoritized Valencian language in education, marking a regression in the pedagogical and sociolinguistic advancements achieved over the past four decades.