Reform for 'These' Kids: Neoliberal Reform, Theorized Target Populations, and Spatial Injustice
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| Title: | Reform for 'These' Kids: Neoliberal Reform, Theorized Target Populations, and Spatial Injustice |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Matthew S. McCluskey (ORCID |
| Source: | Educational Policy. 2026 40(1):71-105. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 35 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Educational Change, Neoliberalism, Charter Schools, Educational Policy, School Administration, Poverty, Communication (Thought Transfer), Minority Group Students, Population Distribution, Racial Distribution, Socioeconomic Status, Social Justice |
| DOI: | 10.1177/08959048251326829 |
| ISSN: | 0895-9048 1552-3896 |
| Abstract: | Charter schools were originally envisioned as laboratories of innovation, but we have scant empirical evidence of how charter policies and ideas have spread beyond charter walls into the wider educational landscape. The diffusion of knowledge reflects networks of power, and tracing diffusion can unearth the discursive and power dynamics at play. Using a systematic search of publicly-available documents, this study investigated the geographic diffusion of one Charter Management Organization (CMO)--Uncommon Schools--as a case of charter discursive diffusion. Grounded in Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), we found that artifacts were located disproportionately in higher poverty zip codes housing lower percentages of non-Hispanic white people. We argue that our findings reveal how the diffusion of charter school discourse constructs a specific type of education that targets socio-economically disadvantaged students of Color. Further, this discourse imagines policies that reaffirm inequalities and the production of unjust geographies. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1490915 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Charter schools were originally envisioned as laboratories of innovation, but we have scant empirical evidence of how charter policies and ideas have spread beyond charter walls into the wider educational landscape. The diffusion of knowledge reflects networks of power, and tracing diffusion can unearth the discursive and power dynamics at play. Using a systematic search of publicly-available documents, this study investigated the geographic diffusion of one Charter Management Organization (CMO)--Uncommon Schools--as a case of charter discursive diffusion. Grounded in Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), we found that artifacts were located disproportionately in higher poverty zip codes housing lower percentages of non-Hispanic white people. We argue that our findings reveal how the diffusion of charter school discourse constructs a specific type of education that targets socio-economically disadvantaged students of Color. Further, this discourse imagines policies that reaffirm inequalities and the production of unjust geographies. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0895-9048 1552-3896 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/08959048251326829 |
