Ambivalent economizations: the case of value added modeling in teacher evaluation

Griffen, Zachary; Panofsky, Aaron

doi:10.1007/s11186-020-09417-x

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Human capital theory can be understood as a critical intervention in the drastic reorganization of children’s time and space that put children’s future economic value front and center in a process that we could call human capitalization . We see this human capitalization as but one case study of processes of economization that others have documented in other spheres of social life (Berman, 2014 ; Çalişkan & Callon, 2009 ; Griffen & Panofsky, 2021 ; Spring, 2015 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…He writes, “investments in human capital [are] activities that influence future monetary and psychic income by increasing the resources in people” (Becker, 1993 : 11). 1 The “activities in the present” that build human capital for Becker in his original writing primarily include education (Teixeira, 2014 ), which is conceptualized as an economically productive system (Griffen & Panofsky, 2021 ). From this perspective, framing education processes as “investments in human capital” is a case of “economization” whereby phenomena traditionally outside of the domain of neo-classical economics are transformed into economic problems and subject to economic reasoning (Griffen & Panofsky, 2021 : 515; cf.…”

Section: The Prominence Of Human Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pricing the priceless child 2.0: children as human capital investment

Bandelj

Spiegel

2022

Theor Soc

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This article takes Viviana Zelizer’s (1985) Pricing the Priceless Child to the new millennium. Zelizer documented the transformation between the 19th and 20th century from an “economically useful” to an “emotionally priceless” child. She observed that by the 1930s, American children were practically economically worthless but invested with significant emotional value. What has happened to this emotionally priceless child at the dawn of the new millennium? Has there been a new transformation in the social value of children, and, if so, what might have such a transformation entailed? To address these questions, we examine overtime trends that point to increasing devotion of resources and time to children’s education, a key input in the exceedingly influential human capital theory, which connects investment into children’s human capital with their future market value. Therefore, we argue that the priceless child 2.0 is a useful-to-be human capital investment child. We use four empirical examples of overtime growth in children’s human capital investment: (a) enrollments in early childhood education, (b) federal spending on early education, (c) federal spending on K-12 programs, and (d) parental spending on child care, education and extracurricular activities. In the conclusion, we discuss some potential consequences and concerns about raising children as human capital investment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: The Prominence Of Human Capitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pricing the priceless child 2.0: children as human capital investment

Bandelj

Spiegel

2022

Theor Soc

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“…Beyond these two preliminary considerations—i.e. that my argument refers to a specific form of economization and that it does not turn a blind eye to the problems associated with the “social”—I want to emphasize a final point here, which refers to the non-linear, variegated, and potentially ambivalent nature of economization [Griffen and Panofsky 2021]. Building on Hirschman and Berman [2014], Griffen and Panofsky [2021] usefully distinguish two modes of economization.…”

Section: Preliminary Clarifications On the “Economization Of The Social”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These two types of economization do not necessarily go hand in hand and there can be tensions between them (as in the empirical case studied by Griffen and Panofsky). Indeed, “the pathways of economization are linked to interests and aims of competing social actors” [Griffen and Panofsky 2021: 519]. In this paper I focus on both types of economization, exploring how the economic way of thinking about the social is translated into more concrete policy instruments.…”

Section: Preliminary Clarifications On the “Economization Of The Social”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Neoliberalism, Economization and the Paradox of the New Welfare State

Laruffa¹

2022

Arch. eur. sociol.

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This paper theorizes the nature of neoliberal social policy, making three substantial contributions. First, processes of “economization” are identified as a central characteristic of neoliberalism: economization constitutes a “bridge” between Foucauldian and (neo-)Marxist accounts of neoliberalism – two perspectives that are in many respects hardly reconcilable – because extending the economic logic to non-economic areas (neoliberalism as a governmental rationality) also potentially increases the profit-making opportunities in previously uncommodified domains (neoliberalism as a capitalist project). Second, the paper links economization processes not only to projects of austerity and welfare retrenchment but also to the more generous “social investment” agenda. Third, the paper highlights the central paradox of neoliberal social policy, whereby higher degrees of economization are associated with more generous social policy: more “social” versions of neoliberalism are those that ironically downplay the social logic, transforming social policies into economic investments. The paper also discusses the problems related to economization in terms of de-democratization.

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“…Such “incentivist structures” draw on economic ideas around the value of competition, individualism, and measures of productivity. Furthermore, value-added models for teachers are an example of economization, whereby this economic policy device determines teacher quality in place of professionals within the field of education (Griffen & Panofsky, 2021). Stuart’s (2016) work also argued that economic imperialism, with its focus on economic goals of schooling, affects teachers through a reduction in their autonomy, spurring tensions between economics-driven aims of education and school readiness and antiracist, social-justice-based curriculum and pedagogical practices, even in early childhood.…”

Section: Economic Imperialism In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Imperialism in Education Research: A Conceptual Review

Jabbar

Menashy

2021

Educational Researcher

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In this review, we explore economic imperialism, a concept that captures the phenomenon of a single discipline’s power over so many facets of social life and policy—including education. Through a systematic search, we examine how economic imperialism has been conceptualized and applied across fields. We uncovered three key, interconnected elements of economic imperialism that hold relevance for education research. First, economics has colonized other disciplines, narrowing the lens through which policymakers have designed education reforms. Second, an overreliance on economic rationales for human behavior neglects other explanations. Third, a focus on economic outcomes of education has subjugated other important aims of education. We share implications for researchers to use economic theory in ways that are interdisciplinary but not imperialist.

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Ambivalent economizations: the case of value added modeling in teacher evaluation

Cited by 14 publications

References 63 publications

Pricing the priceless child 2.0: children as human capital investment

Pricing the priceless child 2.0: children as human capital investment

Neoliberalism, Economization and the Paradox of the New Welfare State

Economic Imperialism in Education Research: A Conceptual Review

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