Raising citizens or raising test scores? Teach for America, “no excuses” charters, and the development of the neoliberal citizen
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Beth Sondel [1]
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[1] North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
Township of Raleigh, Estados Unidos
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- Localización: Theory and research in social education, ISSN 0093-3104, Vol. 43, Nº 3, 2015, págs. 289-313
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
This article addresses how teachers conceptualize and attempt to develop citizens within the context of market-based reforms. Findings are based on a qualitative case study of Teach For America teachers at a Knowledge is Power Program charter school in New Orleans. Using Westheimer and Kahne’s taxonomy of citizenship, I provide evidence that participants envision multiple types of citizenship, yet only those who seek to develop personally responsible citizens, which I argue accept the fundamental tenets of neoliberalism, are able to actualize their goals and implement a pedagogy that reflects their ideology. Teachers’ lack of capacity and freedom to develop participatory and justice-oriented citizens stands in stark contrast to the justice-based rhetoric employed by market-based reformers and further calls into question the assumption that increased test scores are an indication of successful reforms.
