Positioning Students and Communities on School Websites: Competing Discourses of Diversity and Equity

• In Event: 72.030 - Examining School District-Community Relations: Perspectives on Local Governance as a Lever for Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Objectives
U.S. schools have experienced a sharp demographic change, with increasing students from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and im/migrant backgrounds (Passel, 2011). School leaders’ responses to these demographic shifts can shape students’ access to equal education opportunity (Evans, 2007). However, there is scarce research that attends to the discourses of educational leaders (Henze, 2005) or their perception of demographic changes (Turner, 2015).

We argue that discourses on websites are one lens to understand the perceptions and cultural ideologies that shape school districts’ educational policies, programs, and practices of community engagement. The objective of this paper is to examine how six Missouri school districts positioned students on their websites, and how such discourses were aligned – or not – with equity-oriented visions and practices.

Theoretical Frameworks
This research is framed by critical discourse studies, which broadly agree that discourses are social practices striving for power and recognition (Fairclough, 2010; Gee, 2011). Our study is also informed by social semiotics perspectives that underscore how both verbal and non-verbal designs and symbols shape meaning-making (Kress, 2003). Through these frameworks, we attend not only to the congruence or conflict between what is said and shown, but also what is potentially silenced. Finally, we build on existing literature about competing discourses of diversity, social justice, and neoliberal reform in educational policymaking (Collins, 2001; Lipman & Haines, 2007; Pini, 2011; Taylor, 2004; Tomášcová, 2015).

Methods and Data
Using a qualitative comparative case study design (Yin, 2014), we purposefully sampled six Missouri school districts with varying demographic and socio-economic contexts (homogeneous rural White; rural Spanish-speaking immigrants; diverse mid-state; diverse suburban Bosnian, Asian immigrants; wealthy suburban mostly White; diverse urban charter African-American, White, Latinx). Data include 24 board member interviews and 41 field notes of board meetings and school-community events, although the main data for this project were district websites. We analyzed each site’s primary “homepage” using CDA across lexical, grammatical, and multimodal levels to interpret explicit and implicit discourses in each design (Fairclough, 2010; Kress, 2003).

Results and Significance
Analysis showed that all districts, except for the White rural town, highlighted the value of diversity through mission statements, photos of children of different races/ethnicities/religions, and links on policies and resources for changing communities (e.g., new dual language program). Despite explicit representations of diversity, however, there were also hints of resistance and deficit perspectives about students. In addition, discourses of diversity were highlighted alongside neoliberal educational reform values such as marketable competitiveness and efficacy, rather than community-building or social equity. For example, the wealthy suburban district -- which had ongoing conversations about whether/how to engage African-American “transfer” students from “failing” districts -- included rotating pictures of White students coupled with words from their mission like “innovation, legacy, vision.” Meanwhile, African-American students were positioned alongside words like “challenge.” Asian students, when pictured, never faced the camera or were blurred, far in the background. Discussion will consider how competing website discourses reflect policy and ideological debates within the community, and how such discourses can shape community engagement.

Authors

• Sujin Kim, University of Missouri

• Lisa M. Dorner, University of Missouri - Columbia