From neoliberalism to structural racism: Problem framing in a teacher activist organization

Philadelphia's teacher-led activist group, the Caucus of Working Educators, has displayed shifts in how it frames the central problems facing public education since its emergence in 2014. Initially, the organization tended to advance the notion that neoliberalist discourses and values were prim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curriculum inquiry 2018-05, Vol.48 (3), p.293-315
Main Author: Maton, Rhiannon M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activism
Curriculum studies
Educational Change
Educational History
Neoliberalism
Public Education
Racial Bias
school/educational reform
Social Justice
socio-political conditions
student and teacher experiences
Teacher Associations
teacher knowledge
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Summary:Philadelphia's teacher-led activist group, the Caucus of Working Educators, has displayed shifts in how it frames the central problems facing public education since its emergence in 2014. Initially, the organization tended to advance the notion that neoliberalist discourses and values were primarily responsible for "education reform" effects, including underfunded schools and districts, shrinking public school districts, and the privatization of formerly public aspects and services of schooling. Over its first four years of life, however, the organization has increasingly integrated critiques of structural racism in how it frames such issues in public education. This article asks: How do teacher Caucus members employ neoliberalist and structural racism problem frames within their activist teacher organization? I show how members have increasingly centred racial justice concerns, and argue that organizational strategy concerns and the desire to push the organization to align more tightly with specific ethical concerns have driven this transformation process.
ISSN:0362-6784
1467-873X
DOI:10.1080/03626784.2018.1474711