Dismantling the Deficit Trope: What a Great Lakes School District Can Teach Us About the "Failing Schools" Narrative

• In Event: 47.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 47.095-10 - Examining Power: Discipline, Displacement, and Deficit Discourses

Abstract

With school districts characterized as failing, families may choose to send their children elsewhere, contributing to public school closings, consolidations, and less than optimal learning environments. While this bleak perspective may be true and challenging, it does not capture the entire state of affairs. To move from “deficit” to “asset”-based depictions (Swadener & Lubeck, 1995), all stakeholder voices must be included in the narrative. To “dismantle the deficit trope” surrounding one public school district, an in-depth ethnographic study was conducted. Artwork and interviews depicted an overall narrative not uncommon in public education, but seldom brought to light, providing a contrast to the deficit-based perspective pervasive in the local community. Findings demonstrated such themes as resilience, ingenuity, dedication, and community partnerships.

Authors

• Ashley Lauren Sullivan, The Pennsylvania State University - Erie, The Behrend College

• Janelle Newman, Mercyhurst University

• Heather Cole, The Pennsylvania State University - Erie, The Behrend College

• Karen Rizzo, Pennsylvania State University-Behrend