The Discursive Tapestry of Economic and Educational Story Lines

Abstract

Using a critical policy analysis framework, this article examines the discursive foundation of the most recent era of educational reform. The purpose of this article is to provide educational practitioners and scholars with a better understanding of how neoliberal and globalized discourse may codetermine what practitioners—the readers and implementers of policy—are offered as legitimate policy solutions for public schools. The findings of this article examine the ideological foundations of the educational policies put forward by the Obama/Duncan and Trump/DeVos administrations. Specifically, this article shows how, over the past 40 years, two historically related elements determined the purposes of educational policy: (a) the continual threat of economic instability that began in the 1970s as the interconnectedness of global economics became apparent, and (b) the subsequent institutionalization of economic policies intended to secure the health of the economy and establish the United States as a dominant force in the global capitalist marketplace.