Rebecca Goldstein

In this introductory essay, the special issue editors examine the relationship between the media and the neoliberal privatization of education in the U.S. They first take up an examination of news media journalism in late modernity and highlight how neoliberal politics under the guise of democratization of the news media have resulted in both the gutting of professional education journalism and the intensification of the representation of the interests of the economic elite. They next turn to the task of establishing a common and critical understanding of the term neoliberalism, locating it as an extension of Marx’s concept of primary accumulation, an important logic that defines the relationships between individuals, communities, the state, and capital. Finally, they consider how people can disrupt the powerful processes that serve the interests of the neoliberal social imaginary. Highlighting the political actions of Raymond ‘Boots’ Riley to disrupt the destructive practices of neoliberalized education, they illustrate the possibilities of engaging with alternative media to reframe educational debates, while remaining critical of alternative media.

This article examines how the political discourse surrounding No Child Left Behind (NCLB) rhetorically constructs teachers and teaching. Using the prepared speeches and press releases from the Bush Administration (January 2001-December 2008) we illustrate that teachers were framed as both allies to the federal government (as supporters of NCLB and public education) and therefore, soldiers of democracy, and as obstacles to student learning and therefore, enemies of the state. Further, the discourse employed by the Bush Administration identified educating America‟s children as the problem; teachers, in particular, were to blame. It posed a remedy that resonated with the public: NCLB. By identifying public education as the problem, and blaming teachers for that problem, it was easier to focus on changing (or eliminating) individual teachers, students, and schools rather than larger social, institutional, and structural barriers. Such a phenomenon is further reflective of the influence of neoliberalism on public education in the United States, so that individual teachers and schools are expendable if they fail to meet the expectations of the market

With the landmark passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in January 2002, a new era of accountability, standards, and sanctions have become solid fixtures in public education (see Cross, 2004;
McGuinn, 2005; and McGuinn, 2006 for an extensive discussion of the evolution of standards in US public education). The implications of this federal mandate were viewed differently, depending upon the perspective of the viewer. Regardless, there has been and continues to be a great deal of skepticism regarding NCLB’s ability to change the educational experiences of children and youth, particularly those of poor and minority students (Fusarelli, 2004; Kantor & Lowe, 2006; Rogers & Oakes, 2005). Further, the political discourse surrounding NCLB has been very charged since its inception, with different camps supporting the legislation as an extension of the Brown decision (and hence, the realization of equality in
US society), while others have decried it as discriminatory, marginalizing, and undemocratic (see for instance, Kozol, 2005; Paige, 2006; Slavin, 2006; and Stiefel, Schwartz, & Chellman, 2007 for examples of these different arguments). It is these arguments surrounding equality/equity, social justice, democracy (and education for democracy), and NCLB that this article will examine. Using the speeches of Secretaries of Education Roderick Paige and Margaret Spellings, we will illustrate how the federal government and NCLB, the federal education policy driving US public education, frames the notions of equality/equity, justice, and democracy to reflect the Administration’s conservative and market-driven ideologies. By engaging in an iterative process of critical discourse analysis, we will illustrate how the message conveyed regarding NCLB remains the same, even as the audience changes. As a result, the Bush Administration has been able to galvanize support across multiple communities, while simultaneously silencing opposition.