The Covert Mechanisms of Education Policy Discourse: Unmasking Policy Insiders' Discourses and Discursive Strategies in Upholding or Challenging Racism and Classism in Education

Autor/inn/en	Bertrand, Melanie; Perez, Wendy Y.; Rogers, John
Titel	The Covert Mechanisms of Education Policy Discourse: Unmasking Policy Insiders' Discourses and Discursive Strategies in Upholding or Challenging Racism and Classism in Education
Quelle	In: Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23 (2015) 93, (35 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1068 2341
Schlagwörter	Social Class; Social Bias; Racial Bias; Educational Policy; Equal Education; Correlation; Language Usage; Interviews; Discourse Analysis; Disadvantaged Environment; Unions; Teachers; State Policy; Self Concept; Policy Analysis; Educational Resources; Educational Equity (Finance); Educational Attitudes; Educational Finance; Social Differences; Racial Differences; Teacher Effectiveness; Elementary Secondary Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Social classes; Soziale Klasse; Racial discrimination; Rassismus; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Korrelation; Sprachgebrauch; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Diskursanalyse; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Selbstkonzept; Politikfeldanalyse; Bildungsmittel; Educational attitude; Bildungsverhalten; Erziehungseinstellung; Bildungsfonds; Sozialer Unterschied; Rassenunterschied; Effectiveness of teaching; Instructional effectiveness; Lehrerleistung; Unterrichtserfolg
Abstract	Policy insiders across party lines increasingly acknowledge educational "gaps," yet they talk about this inequity in very different ways. Though some critique disparities through a structural lens, others use deficit discourse, blaming families of color and working-class families for educational outcomes. This study examines how state policy insiders explain educational inequity, shedding light on the complex relationship between language and the maintenance of systemic racism and classism in education. Drawing upon a unique data set of interviews with 50 policy insiders in one state in the United States, we found three main discourses used to explain inequity in education, each of which cited a different cause: 1) structural inequity, 2) perceived deficits of families and communities, and 3) teachers unions and teacher seniority. Policy insiders used often-veiled discursive strategies to advance their discourses. For instance, those that used deficit discourse: 1) asserted that those most negatively impacted by inequity "cause" inequity; 2) strengthened deficit discourse by blending it with one or both of the other two discourses; and 3) made inequity appear natural through the use of several substrategies, including obscuring the identity of those harmed by inequity. These strategies allowed some policy insiders to strengthen deficit discourse, divert attention from structural issues, and characterize themselves positively while advancing racist and classist ideas. These findings have compelling implications in terms of possibilities for policy changes supportive of educational equity. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. c/o Editor, USF EDU162, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: http://epaa.asu.edu
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01