The Politics of Education : A Critical Introduction

The Politics of Education provides an introduction to both the political dimensions of schooling and the politics of recent educational reform debates. The book offers undergraduates and starting graduate students in education an understanding of numerous dimensions of the contested field of education, addressing questions of political economy, class, cultural politics, race, and gender. Noted scholar Kenneth Saltman introduces contemporary educational debates and seriously considers views across the political spectrum from the vantage point of critical education, emphasizing schooling for broader social equality and justice. Updates to this second edition work through contemporary reform debates that include topics such as the reauthorization of ESEA, race and diversity, standardized testing and common core, and classroom technology. With opportunities for readers to engage in deeper discussion through Questions for Further Discussion and a Glossary of key terms, The Politics of Education remains a much-needed, accessible primer, providing the critical tools needed to make sense of the current politics of education. Cover 1 Half Title 4 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 Series Preface 11 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction: What Are the “Politics” in the Politics of Education? Liberal, Conservative, and Critical Perspectives on the Politics of Education 14 1. The Cultural Politics of Education 30 Cultural Politics: Stuart Hall’s Constructivist Theory of Culture 31 Cultural Politics and the “Responsible” Teacher 33 Cultural Politics and Class: Pierre Bourdieu and the Forms of Capital 34 Implications for Contemporary Educational Policy 36 Suggested Further Reading 38 Questions for Discussion 40 2. The Political Economy of Education 41 Political Economy and Social Reproduction in Schooling 41 Schooling under Fordism and Post-Fordism 45 Limitations of Economic Perspectives: Human Agency and Resistance 47 Suggested Further Reading 48 Questions for Discussion 50 3. The Political Psychology of Education 51 A Critical Psychology of Education 51 The Specificity of Context and Student Experience 54 Society and Selves Constituted by Difference 54 Repression 56 The Productivity of Power in the Making of the Self 59 Suggested Further Reading 61 Questions for Discussion 63 4. Hegemony 64 Gramsci and Hegemony 64 The Poverty of “Good” Suburban Schooling 65 Why It Matters Now 66 Suggested Further Reading 68 Questions for Discussion 69 5. Disciplinary Power, Race, and Examinations 70 Disciplinary Power 70 Disciplining the Black Student Body 72 The Possibilities of Resistance 73 Theoretical Problems with Foucauldian Power 74 Conclusion 76 Suggested Further Reading 76 Questions for Discussion 77 6. Biopolitics and Education 79 What Is Biopolitics? 79 A Shift in Sovereignty 80 Producing Knowledge of Life 80 Making Subjects 82 An Egalitarian and Emancipatory Biopolitics? 83 Suggested Further Reading 84 Questions for Discussion 85 7. Neoliberalism and Corporate School Reform 87 What Is Neoliberalism? 87 Neoliberal Educational Restructuring 88 Profit Motives 90 Ideological Motives 91 Conclusion 93 Suggested Further Reading 93 Questions for Discussion 95 8. The Politics of Gender in the Current Education Reforms 96 The Material War on Women in Education 96 The Symbolic War on Women in Education 96 The Gendered Rationality/Experience Split as a Political Tactic in Education 97 Inclusion and School to Work 99 Performativity 101 Conclusion 103 Suggested Further Reading 103 Questions for Discussion 104 9. The Politics of Globalization and Education 105 Global Corporate Schooling 105 Supranational Organizations 106 IMF/World Bank 107 USAID 109 Conclusion 110 Suggested Further Reading 110 Questions for Discussion 111 10. The Politics of the Status Quo or a New Common School Movement? 112 The Original Common School Movement 113 Corporate School Reform as an Enclosure of the Commons 114 Distinguishing between Public and Private Control in Education 118 Conclusion 120 Questions for Discussion 121 Case Studies 123 Glossary 127 About the Author 145 Index 146