"I Never Wanted to Be 'That Teacher'": Surveillance and Identity in an Elementary School

• In Event: Surveillance, Disruption, and Resistance in Schools

Abstract

How do neoliberal reform policies impact the lived experiences of teachers in an elementary school setting? What official discourses of good teaching exist, and how do teachers negotiate power to form identities when these discourses grate against their beliefs? Using a critical policy analysis approach, this qualitative study applies a Foucauldian lens to understand how teachers at one elementary school take up the “conditions of possibility” defined by discourses of good teaching. Findings suggest that limited conceptions of good teaching that privilege test-centric instruction constrain teachers within a culture of surveillance that restricts the joyful and morally fulfilling elements of teaching. The results from this study complicate a narrative of teacher resistance to policies that contradict their professional judgement.

Authors

• Emily Yerkes, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Elizabeth Dutro, University of Colorado - Boulder