Zombies, Hauntings, and Contagions: A Study of Embodied Neoliberal Education Reform

• In Event: 72.064 - Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: 72.064-3 - Exorcising the Specters of Neoliberalism and Quantification: Intersections of Cultural Studies and Education

Abstract

The central question of this research is, “How does a full-service community school interact with neoliberal education reforms as demonstrated through its teachers?” First, neoliberal education reforms are defined as those reforms that rest on free-market principles that include, but are not limited to: choice, accountability, opening of public sectors to private investment, competition, and individualism. Second, Full Service Community Schools (FSCS) are defined as any school where social, mental, and health services that benefit the entire community are deeply connected to the school itself. Eventually, this research moves away from teacher practice and into how such reforms are embodied in teachers and students by relying on several theoretical metaphors: zombies, hauntings, and contagions.

Author

• Gabriel Stephen Huddleston, Texas Christian University