The Politics of Education Policy in an Era of Inequality

Horsford, Sonya Douglass; Scott, Janelle; Anderson, Gary L.

doi:10.4324/9781315680682

Cited by 72 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…Scholars have long critiqued the neutral tone and positivist approach to policy research (Ching et al, 2018;Diem et al, 2014;Milani & Winton, 2017;Nakagawa, 2000;Taylor, 1997). Because the topic of this paper calls for a methodology and analytic tool embedded with a critical lens to carefully examine policy rhetoric and how it constructs the context for the Community Schools initiative, I use qualitative case study methods with Horsford, Scott, and Anderson's (2018) critical policy analysis (CPA) framework as a guide. Horsford, Scott, and Anderson (2018) suggest a critical policy analysis may: 1) Challenge traditional notions of power, politics, and governance, 2) examine policy as discourse and political spectacle, 3) center the perspectives of the marginalized and oppressed, 4) interrogate the distribution of power and resources, and 5) hold those in power accountable for policy outcomes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some scholars refer to this as a "discursive strategy," or the intentional use and/or manipulation of language to generate a particular outcome (Anderson & Donchik, 2016;Reisigl & Wodak, 2015;Wright, 2012). One central reason Horsford, Scott, and Anderson (2018) suggest we view policy as discourse and socially constructed is because policies are not created to respond to a problem. Rather, existing "solutions" are chosen to address problems as they arise.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some scholars also refer to this as the "garbage can model," which argues that problems, solutions, and opportunities move in and out of a garbage can and when problems get attached to solutions, their linkage is fortuitous (Cohen et al, 1972;Kingdon & Thurber, 2002). Horsford, Scott, and Anderson (2018) claim the feasibility of policy arguments is constructed through the process of political spectacle. The notion of political spectacle challenges the claim that policy making involves rational decision-making and democratic participation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past two decades, scholars have thoroughly discussed how dominant neoliberal ideologies have shaped schools (Apple, 2006;Lipman, 2011;Horsford et al, 2018;Slater, 2015). They suggest that neoliberalism, a powerful ideology supporting free trade and unregulated markets, dictates how Americans feel about the role of testing and accountability in schools.…”

Section: Neoliberalism In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On one hand, it may seem like a commonsense correlation: Better schools will create better workers. However, scholars suggest neoliberal ideals act in opposition to democratic citizenship and the humanistic goals of education (Hantzopoulos, 2016;Horsford et al, 2018). Sleeter (2008) also argues equity is directly impacted by neoliberalism as alignment with the ideology leaves even teacher preparation programs to focus almost solely on test preparation and the technical aspects of instruction at the expense of equity-centered preparation.…”

Section: Neoliberalism In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

“All lives matter”: How districts co-opt equity language and maintain the status quo

Lewis-Durham

2020

EPAA

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The term “equity” is widely used by educational policy makers to describe myriad programs and practices aimed at closing the supposed racial achievement gap. Research about the way equity has been used in these policies typically explores how policy actors with low will and capacity frame and implement their reforms. Few studies, however, explore equity-oriented reforms initiated and supported by policy makers who claim to fervently support educational equity. The purpose of this critical policy analysis was to examine how the rhetoric used by equity-supportive policy actors may have reinforced neoliberal ideas and inadvertently maintained white innocence and color-blind racism. Examining the Community Schools policy in New York City schools, this study found that some equity initiatives are circumscribed by their focus on “all lives”, which can unwittingly reinforce the status quo in schools.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Neoliberalism In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Neoliberalism In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“All lives matter”: How districts co-opt equity language and maintain the status quo

Lewis-Durham

2020

EPAA

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Studying the Implementation of Equity Projects in Science Education in Divisive Political Contexts

Tran,

Penuel,

Singleton

et al. 2024

Science Education

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The implementation of equity‐oriented reforms is never simply a technical matter: it involves directly engaging with the norms and politics responsible for reproducing inequitable opportunities and outcomes, and with efforts to promote educational justice. To date, there has been little research on how leaders in science education navigate the political environments of schooling to engage in equity work in their local contexts. The current political divisions within and among states regarding teaching about racial equity provide an important and timely context for such study. This study examines equity projects that science education leaders engage in and how these relate to recently passed legislation in several states regarding teaching about race and its ongoing role in shaping American society and institutions. It relies on survey data from science education leaders in 33 states, focusing on their familiarity with and involvement in different kinds of equity projects in science education, along with their perceptions of what supports and what hinders their equity‐focused work. Employing a mixed methods approach, including descriptive analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, and thematic analysis, we found that engagement in equity projects varied widely across and within states. However, in states with laws promoting equity, leaders were engaged in more racial equity‐related projects than in states with legislation that restrict discussion of matters of race, so‐called “gag orders”. These findings underscore the significance of the broader political environments in shaping science education leadership and present opportunities for researchers in the field to support leaders in navigating them.

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The Aesthetic Pursuit of Educational Leadership for Social Justice: Grace in the Struggle

Agosto

Westberry

2020

Handbook on Promoting Social Justice in Education

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Attention to aesthetics in educational leadership literature and organizational leadership has increased over the last two decades. However, this attention has seldom included grace. We highlight emerging contemplations of grace to bring attention to conceptions of injustice and justice (i.e., transitional justice, global justice) through micro and macro-lenses (i.e., affective economy). This pairing of ethics and aesthetics provides an entry point for developing ways of being and doing educational leadership to enter the struggles against social injustices in and beyond schools and school districts. We first trace grace as a philosophical construct of European discourse up to the eighteenth century, including how it has become more broadly conceived as physical movement and within political movements and how some conceptions of it can undermine leadership intending to advance (social) justice. We then illustrate shifts away from conceptions of

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The Politics of Education Policy in an Era of Inequality

Cited by 72 publications

References 0 publications

“All lives matter”: How districts co-opt equity language and maintain the status quo

“All lives matter”: How districts co-opt equity language and maintain the status quo

Studying the Implementation of Equity Projects in Science Education in Divisive Political Contexts

The Aesthetic Pursuit of Educational Leadership for Social Justice: Grace in the Struggle

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