The Name of the Game: The Figured Worlds of Charter Schools and Public Schools

• In Event: Neoliberalism and the “New” Public School Reform Movement

Abstract

The neoliberalization of public education in the past decade(s) has “changed the soul” (Lipman, 2011, p. 118) of public education, having started to redefine teaching, learning, and participation in schooling (Lipman, 2011). Using discourse analysis and basic statistical measures this study investigates whether ideological differences in the educational sector are visible in the naming practices of charter and traditional public schools in Atlanta, Chicago, and Phoenix. Observers see increasing pressure on public schools to reinvent their mission and program (Bosetti, 2005) and this study finds that ideological differences are observable, with traditional public school names continuing to uphold community values while charter school names reflect the values of recent education reform efforts.

Author

• Constantin Schreiber, Arizona State University