Shifts and stability in schoolscapes: Diachronic considerations of southeastern Estonian schools

•Article explores the dynamic changes in Estonian schoolscapes over a decade.•Analysis reveals key factors leading to an increase in the use of the regional language.•Analysis suggests that diachronic schoolscape research as a promising pathway for future research. How do we research the dynamic aspects of the material language environment of schools? In this article, I develop further diachronic analysis as a method to advance qualitative approaches to understand and compare schoolscapes across eras. I incorporate findings from a diachronic study of photos and teacher interviews in southeastern Estonian schools in 2001–2003 and 2013–2014 to appreciate and analyze dynamic forces changing schoolscapes. I found several forces leading to a marked increased in the use of the regional language in schools: the introduction of mass-produced materials in the language, the need to distinguish schools within choice systems, and the expansion of language instruction to, and related pedagogical opportunities in, the pre-primary level. Enduring norms about the primary role of the official language in schools, on the other hand, worked to maintain schoolscapes in Estonian. These collective forces point to the value in investigating schoolscapes across time to capture and further understand economic and cultural systems at work.