Abstract
In this paper, we argue that national education policy has maintained educational inequality through continually avoiding the very causes of inequality. While a steady stream of re-formulated educational policy mantras lead educators to continually shift curriculum and assessment tools, these efforts ignore the unexamined racism that shapes schooling in the U.S. This paper frames federal policy efforts as designed to continue to benefit White educators (and educators of color aligned to White interests), while justifying educational inequality, measured loosely by false notions of academic achievement. These policy efforts promote economic inequality, promote racialized ideals of what an educator and educational leader should “look” and “act” like, and situates efforts that empower students, communities, and/or educators of color as threats that must be silenced. We conclude with policy implications that fundamentally shift the nature of who should develop, implement, and evaluate a national education policy agenda.
Recommended Citation
Ard, Rachelle Lanette and Knaus, Christopher B.
(2013)
"From Colonization to R.E.S.P.E.C.T.: How Federal Education Policy Fails Children and Educators of Color,"
The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/thebridge/vol3/iss1/2