Think tank metrics and schooling: Implications of current education reform policy for democratic education
Item
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Title
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Think tank metrics and schooling: Implications of current education reform policy for democratic education
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:05119efc5897:10403
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identifier
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10405
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Creator
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Mulcahy, Donal E.,
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Contributor
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Phillip Anderson
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Date
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2009
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Educational sociology | Curriculum development | Organizational behavior | assessment | critical | democracy | leadership | school | society
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Abstract
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In this dissertation, I examine the role of school in society today. Who is determining that role, and what impact are current reforms having on schooling for democracy? Are the needs of the people and the workings of democracy being prioritized or are other goals prioritized even to the detriment of democracy? To engage this question, I examine some of the leading figures in what I term the standards reform movement, and their arguments in support of current standards reform efforts.;In particular, I focus on the work of Chester Finn and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and Foundation. Since serving under President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Education, William Bennett---co-founder of the Project for the New American Century---Finn has been part of a push that initiated the current trend towards centralized, standardized and results based accountability for schools. He is inextricably linked to the re-envisioning of the federal role in education that emerged at that time. Along with other think tanks such as the Broad Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and individuals such as Steven Adamowski and Arne Duncan, Finn represents the position that rigid national standards and government control of school curricula will lead to the kind of schooling this country needs.;My research contextualizes the current standards movement within a historical framework and assesses the social implications of standardization. This context includes considering the thinking of early reformers such as John Philbrick and David Snedden, and scholars such as John Dewey. I apply a critical pedagogy critique to current proposals for school reform policy to better identify structures of power and knowledge production inherent in these reforms. In doing so, I draw on the scholarship of Ira Shor, Joe Kincheloe, Jean Anyon, David Berliner, William Domhoff and others. As part of my critical methodology, I further evaluate how the contemporary media driven public sphere is targeted by reformers and politicians as an arena to both garner support for their proposals and suppress opposition. Ultimately, I consider whether standards reform may better enable or hinder schools to serve students and a democratic society.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Urban Education
