Power to the People? Populism and the Politics of School Choice in the United States

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Power to the People? Populism and the Politics of School Choice in the United States
Language: English
Authors: Singer, Jeremy (ORCID 0000-0002-2666-2972)
Source: Journal of School Choice. 2021 15(1):88-112.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 25
Publication Date: 2021
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: School Choice, Politics of Education, Political Attitudes, Educational Change, Neoliberalism, Access to Education, African American Community, Christianity, Religious Cultural Groups
Geographic Terms: United States
DOI: 10.1080/15582159.2020.1853993
ISSN: 1558-2159
Abstract: I use the definition of "populism as a discursive frame" to consider the extent to which the politics of school choice in the United States have been populist. This analysis offers a novel way to understand how political actors have forged coalitions to support school choice and suggests how they may remake their positions in an evolving political context. Populist approaches in the politics of school choice have been muted over the past three decades, as the contemporary educational reform movement has relied on political rhetoric that would foster and maintain broad-based coalitional support for its agenda. This is revealed by the dominant framing of school choice in the contemporary reform era, and by its contrast with more populist discourses throughout the politics of school choice. While populist sentiments are rising in the United States, political elites largely still rely on the contemporary reform movement's weakly populist or elitist discourse surrounding school choice. Social and geographic divisions within and between political constituencies remain obstacles to a populist turn in the politics of school choice.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2021
Accession Number: EJ1292425
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:I use the definition of "populism as a discursive frame" to consider the extent to which the politics of school choice in the United States have been populist. This analysis offers a novel way to understand how political actors have forged coalitions to support school choice and suggests how they may remake their positions in an evolving political context. Populist approaches in the politics of school choice have been muted over the past three decades, as the contemporary educational reform movement has relied on political rhetoric that would foster and maintain broad-based coalitional support for its agenda. This is revealed by the dominant framing of school choice in the contemporary reform era, and by its contrast with more populist discourses throughout the politics of school choice. While populist sentiments are rising in the United States, political elites largely still rely on the contemporary reform movement's weakly populist or elitist discourse surrounding school choice. Social and geographic divisions within and between political constituencies remain obstacles to a populist turn in the politics of school choice.
ISSN:1558-2159
DOI:10.1080/15582159.2020.1853993