"Just Let the Worst Students Go": A Critical Case Analysis of Public Discourse about Race, Merit, and Worth

Autor/inn/en	Zirkel, Sabrina; Pollack, Terry M.
Titel	"Just Let the Worst Students Go": A Critical Case Analysis of Public Discourse about Race, Merit, and Worth
Quelle	In: American Educational Research Journal, 53 (2016) 6, S.1522-1555 (34 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0002-8312
Schlagwörter	School Districts; Equal Education; Racial Bias; Case Studies; Educational Finance; Resource Allocation; High School Students; Academic Achievement; Social Attitudes; Public Opinion; Racial Factors; Value Judgment; Achievement Gap; Critical Theory; Race; Science Laboratories; Qualitative Research; Electronic Publishing; California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? School district; Schulbezirk; Racial discrimination; Rassismus; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Bildungsfonds; Ressourcenallokation; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Schulleistung; Social attidude; Soziale Einstellung; Öffentliche Meinung; Werturteil; Kritische Theorie; Rasse; Abstammung; Qualitative Forschung; Elektronisches Publizieren; Kalifornien
Abstract	We present a case analysis of the controversy and public debate generated from a school district's efforts to address racial inequities in educational outcomes by diverting special funds from the highest performing students seeking elite college admissions to the lowest performing students who were struggling to graduate from high school. Widespread arguments against the proposed change emphasized the identification of highly successful students as "worthy" and others as "unworthy" of resources. Through an analysis of print and digital public texts, we identify a narrative cycle that informed public debate: (a) colorblind rhetoric, (b) academic performance is presumed to emerge solely from talent and effort, so (c) academic performance then becomes a measure of worth, and finally, (d) efforts to address racial disparities are "unfair." We argue that narratives identifying some students as worthy and others unworthy are highly influential in the outcomes of many educational policy and funding debates. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01