Fissures in Standards Formulation: The Role of Neoconservative and Neoliberal Discourses in Justifying Standards Development in Wisconsin and Minnesota

Creator

Samantha Caughlan
Richard Beach

Files

Publisher

Arizona State University, University of South Florida

Publication Date

September 2007

Abstract

An analysis of English/language arts standards development in Wisconsin and Minnesota in the late 1990s and early 2000s shows a process of compromise between neoliberal and neoconservative factions involved in promoting and writing standards, with the voices of educators conspicuously absent. Interpretive and critical discourse analyses of versions of English/language arts standards at the high school level and of public documents related to standards promotion reveal initial conflicts between neoconservative and neoliberal discourses, which over time were integrated in final standards documents. The content standards finally released for use in guiding curriculum in each state were bland and incoherent documents that reflected neither a deep knowledge of the field nor an acknowledgement of what is likely to engage young learners. The study suggests the need for looking more critically at standards as political documents, and a greater consideration of educators’ expertise in the process of their future development and revision.

Keywords

Education--Standards

Extent

65

Geographic Location

Wisconsin; Minnesota

Volume

15

Issue

18

Language

English; Spanish

Media Type

Journals (Periodicals)

Format

Digital Only

Note

Citation: Caughlan, S., & Beach, R. (2007). Fissures in standards formulation: The role of neoconservative and neoliberal discourses in justifying standards development in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 15(18). Retrieved [date] from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v15n18/

Identifier

E11-00525

Creative Commons

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Caughlan, Samantha and Beach, Richard, "Fissures in Standards Formulation: The Role of Neoconservative and Neoliberal Discourses in Justifying Standards Development in Wisconsin and Minnesota" (2007). Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA). 239.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/usf_EPAA/239