Bad Teacher: What Race to the Top Learned from the "Race to the Bottom"

Autor/in	Stern, Mark
Titel	Bad Teacher: What Race to the Top Learned from the "Race to the Bottom"
Quelle	In: Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 11 (2013) 3, S.194-229 (36 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1740-2743
Schlagwörter	Federal Programs; Educational Policy; Policy Analysis; School Restructuring; Neoliberalism; Charter Schools; Unions; Educational Development; Politics of Education; Academic Achievement; Eligibility; Program Effectiveness; Evidence; International Organizations; Economic Impact; Failure; Change Strategies; International Studies; Incentive Grants; Federal Aid + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Politikfeldanalyse; Schulreformplan; Schulumwandlung; Neo-liberalism; Neoliberalismus; Charter school; Charter-Schule; Bildungsentwicklung; Educational policy; Schulleistung; Eignung; Evidenz; International organisation; International organisations; International organization; Internationale Organisation; Ökonomische Determinanten; Lösungsstrategie; Internationaler Studiengang; Finanzieller Anreiz
Abstract	In 2009, the Obama Administration created a $4.3 billion dollar grant competition for states called "Race to the Top" (RttT). The money, earmarked from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was to be distributed by the Department of Education to states who were making efforts to adhere to precirculated reforms supported by Secretary Duncan, such as lifting caps on charter schools, tying teacher evaluations to test scores, and opening alternative teacher certification markets. These reforms, so the administration said, were to help the "crisis" or "failure" in public education. Critics, on the other hand, have argued that these types of reforms facilitate the neoliberal mantras of deregulation and privatization, which pose a serious threat to communitarian and democratic ideals. States that did what they were told got money, while those who didn't support the reforms were left to fend for themselves. In this paper, the author explores RttT as a type of structural adjustment policy like those supported and implemented by international financial institutions over the past 40 years. Structural adjustment policies, critical geographers argue, were pivotal in what they call the "race to the bottom"--the ways neoliberal economic policies adversely affected poor countries, laborers, and the environment. The bottom here refers to how low, in terms of repealing labor and environmental protections, countries were willing to go in exchange for foreign capital. The author argues that, however dissimilar the two policies might seem at first, both share a common ideology, language, and economic objective. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Institute for Education Policy Studies. University of Northampton, School of Education, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK. Tel: +44-1273-270943; e-mail: ieps@ieps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.jceps.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10