Mapping neoliberal education reform: A spatial analysis of charter schools in New Jersey

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Enacting and Improving School Choice Systems

Abstract

Market-based "reforms" constitute the cornerstone of the neoliberal education agenda across the United States. Charter schools have risen to the top of market reforms and have become a mainstay in urban education particularly. This study takes up a historical materialist approach and draws on ideas of accumulation by dispossession to understand the proliferation of charter schools. This study examines the relationship between charter schools, race, class, and space. We use ArcGIS Pro to examine locations of charter schools along with density of demographic information, specifically race and median household income. This study’s findings leverages critical theoretical concepts surrounding the political economy and examines the reach of neoliberalization of education through charter schooling.

Authors

• David Osworth, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• M. Nathan Tanner, University of Nevada - Reno

• Emily Kennedy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign