The Culture of Power Online: Cultural Responsiveness and Relevance in Vendor-Developed Online Courses

• In Event: Implementation, Outcomes, and Equity Implications of Online Instruction for Credit Recovery in High Schools

Abstract

Objectives: Despite the rapid expansion of online learning in K12 schools, the quality of online curriculum remains a “black box” for teachers, administrators, parents, and policymakers. This is especially true regarding the cultural relevance and responsiveness of online course curricula, which has implications for the learning experiences and outcomes of students. This paper describes a systematic examination of how social messages related to the “culture of power” are either perpetuated, acknowledged, or disrupted in a fully online instructional environment through an in-depth analysis of curriculum in online learning spaces (Delpit, 1995).

Theoretical framework: Critical multiculturalism (Delgado & Stefancic, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2004; McLaren, 1995) and critical curriculum studies (Apple, 2004; Au, 2012). Critical studies (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Bernstein, 1996; Ladson-Billings, 1995) provide a guide to understanding how elements of courses create or disrupt spaces of inequity. These frameworks help us make sense of the ways in which the official knowledge contained in school curriculum is a subjective collection of truths from the perspective of dominant social groups designed to support and provide legitimacy to the status quo (Apple, 1993; Ladson-Billings, 1995).

Methods and data sources: Data for this paper were collected in a large, urban Midwestern district that contracted with one of the largest online course vendors in the country. Qualitative and quantitative coding of course videos, activities, and assessments were supplemented with findings from classroom observations and teacher interviews. We sampled across disciplines and “took” the four most common secondary courses in the district (Algebra I, Citizenship, English Language Arts 9, and Physical Science), using an observation protocol developed by our team. The protocol is based on previous rubrics developed to evaluate culturally responsive pedagogies and online learning. We then coded observations in Dedoose using a code tree informed by our theoretical framework and research questions.

Findings: Course content perpetuated the culture of power by presenting dominant cultural narratives as fact, centering the experiences and accomplishments of White men, teaching decontextualize information, endorsing neoliberal ideologies, and failing to provide consistent opportunities for critical reflection. The Citizenship course also perpetuated explicitly racist, sexist, and xenophobic narratives. The most prevalent theme that emerged through qualitative analysis included failing to challenge dominant cultural narratives in course content, including ignoring the experiences of individuals other than White men. This was reflected through microaggressions in the instructional delivery of content and reinforced the narrative of American exceptionalism and the White male experience as both normative and the only one of importance.

Significance: Online courses represent a growing, understudied trend in the education sector that provide predominately for-profit corporations with an often unrecognized influence on students’ educational experiences (Boninger, Molnar, & Murray, 2017; Molnar, 2013). This study extends prior research on online learning and other neoliberal incursions into by examining the curricular content and structure integrated in online high school courses with a focus on cultural responsiveness and relevance. Our findings also provide nuance to larger policy-level arguments on the disparate quality and relevance of students’ K-12 educational experiences in the United States.

Authors

• Jennifer Suzanne Darling-Aduana, Georgia State University

• Annalee G. Good, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Elisabeth Geraghty, University of Wisconsin