ERIC Number: EJ801050
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Sep-10
Pages: 65
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1068-2341
EISSN: N/A
Fissures in Standards Formulation: The Role of Neoconservative and Neoliberal Discourses in Justifying Standards Development in Wisconsin and Minnesota
Caughlan, Samantha; Beach, Richard
Education Policy Analysis Archives, v15 n18 Sep 10, 2007
An analysis of English/language arts standards development in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the late 1990s and early 2000s shows a process of compromise between neoliberal and neoconservative factions involved in promoting and writing standards, with the voices of educators conspicuously absent. Interpretive and critical discourse analyses of versions of English/language arts standards at the high school level and of public documents related to standards promotion reveal initial conflicts between neoconservative and neoliberal discourses, which over time were integrated in final standards documents. The content standards finally released for use in guiding curriculum in each state were bland and incoherent documents that reflected neither a deep knowledge of the field nor an acknowledgment of what is likely to engage young learners. The study suggests the need for looking more critically at standards as political documents, and a greater consideration of educators' expertise in the process of their future development and revision. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Language Arts, State Standards, Political Attitudes, Conflict, Politics of Education, High Schools, Policy Formation, Participative Decision Making
Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. % Editor, USF College of Education, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, EDU162, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: http://epaa.asu.edu
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Journal Articles
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Minnesota; Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A