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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 0000-0002-2911-7849), Madhu Narayanan (ORCID 0000-0002-6175-6421), Erin Milne (ORCID 0000-0002-6821-6508)
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
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  Data: Reform for 'These' Kids: Neoliberal Reform, Theorized Target Populations, and Spatial Injustice
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Matthew+S%2E+McCluskey%22">Matthew S. McCluskey</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2911-7849">0000-0002-2911-7849</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Madhu+Narayanan%22">Madhu Narayanan</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6175-6421">0000-0002-6175-6421</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Erin+Milne%22">Erin Milne</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6821-6508">0000-0002-6821-6508</externalLink>)
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  Data: 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
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  Data: 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.
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        Value: 10.1177/08959048251326829
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      – SubjectFull: Population Distribution
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      – TitleFull: Reform for 'These' Kids: Neoliberal Reform, Theorized Target Populations, and Spatial Injustice
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