Science and the State: Examining the Ideological Apparatus of Reading Policy Through Teachers’ Lived Experience

• In Event: Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Lived Experiences

Abstract

This paper examines the convergence of state ideological power and science of reading media movement attentive to a focus on word reading and systematic phonics instruction as the solution for improving reading achievement. Using qualitative research methods, including narrative inquiry, I examine the language teachers use in talking about teaching practices in the context of state policies rooted in neoliberal conceptions of science and standardization, conceptions rooted in scientific racism and white supremacy ideology. Findings illustrate relationships between science of reading media language and those taken up in state policy, revealing ideologies and struggles that emerge in teacher talk about limited teaching practices. The need for future research examining how white supremacy is (re)produced through these practices is discussed.

Author

• Michael Young, Illinois State University