Master's Tools and the Master's House: a Historical Analysis Exploring the Myth of Educating for Democracy in the United States
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University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses March 2017 Master's Tools and the Master's House: A Historical Analysis Exploring the Myth of Educating for Democracy in the United States Timothy Scott University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Politics Commons, American Studies Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Economic History Commons, Economic Theory Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Education Economics Commons, Finance Commons, Growth and Development Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Labor Economics Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Macroeconomics Commons, Other Education Commons, Political Economy Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons, and the Work, Economy and Organizations Commons Recommended Citation Scott, Timothy, "Master's Tools and the Master's House: A Historical Analysis Exploring the Myth of Educating for Democracy in the United States" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 903. https://doi.org/10.7275/9461137.0 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/903 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MASTER’S TOOLS AND THE MASTER’S HOUSE: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS EXPLORING THE MYTH OF EDUCATING FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED STATES A Dissertation Presented by TIMOTHY DAVID SCOTT Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION February 2017 College of Education Social Justice Education © Copyright by Timothy David Scott 2017 All Rights Reserved MASTER’S TOOLS AND THE MASTER’S HOUSE: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS EXPLORING THE MYTH OF EDUCATING FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED STATES A Dissertation Presented by TIMOTHY DAVID SCOTT Approved as to style and content by: __________________________________ Gary Malaney, Chair __________________________________ Denise Ives, Member __________________________________ Ruth Jennison, Member _________________________________ Joseph B. Berger, Senior Associate Dean College of Education DEDICATION For all of her early sacrifices and endless love and support, this dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Janille Palmer Santa Ana. Additionally, I submit this dissertation while in the field volunteering as a trauma social worker at the Oceti Sakowin camp located on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, a site of Indigenous resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline, the fossil fuel industry’s destruction of the earth and the genocidal structure that is settler colonialism. This dissertation is dedicated to this historic struggle and Indigenous decolonization struggles everywhere. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Ximena U. Zúñiga for her support throughout my doctoral studies, beginning with a friendly and encouraging interview that led to my entrance into the Social Justice Education program. Ximena went on to play a key role in building my writing confidence in her doctoral seminar, gave me a second and third chance to remain in the program and provided an essential critical voice while serving on my comprehensive exams committee. I am also grateful of Gary Malaney for agreeing to step up and provide moral support and some needed “no bullshit” guidance as the chair of my comprehensive exam and dissertation committees. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Denise Ives and Ruth Jennison for serving on my dissertation committee and providing valuable feedback based on their respective disciplines and personal generosity. I am eternally grateful for Carla Caruso, who was my life partner and rock for so many years and provided me the stability and confidence to consider doctoral studies. I am forever indebted to Deborah Keisch for the multitude of ways she supported my research and writing. Completing this endeavor would not have been possible without Deborah’s astute feedback and gentle encouragement. v ABSTRACT MASTER’S TOOLS AND THE MASTER’S HOUSE: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS EXPLORING THE MYTH OF EDUCATING FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 2017 TIMOTHY DAVID SCOTT, B.S., WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY M.S.W., UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Gary Melaney, Ph.D. Over the past forty-years, neoliberal education reform policies in the U.S. have spurred significant resistance, often galvanized by claims that such policies undermine public education as a vital institution of U.S. democracy. Within this narrative, many activists call to “save our schools” and return them to a time when public schools served the common good. With these narratives in mind, I explore the foundational and persistent power structures that characterize the U.S. as a means to reveal the fundamental purpose of its public education system. The questions that guide my research include: (1) With an understanding that capitalism, white supremacy, settler- colonialism and heteropatriarchy are inherently inequitable, incredibly violent and undemocratic; how can we expect meaningful and lasting social protections or even emancipation within a nation-state constituted by these structures? (2) Consequently, can we then expect public education - an institution constructed and controlled by these structural forces - to be transformed into an equitable and democratic institution? (3) Is it vi even possible to attain state protections for the common good within the current global domain of finance capital? In this extensive historical analysis, I examine these questions using a critical theory lens, historical revisionism and discourse analysis to interrogate primary source materials, scholarly work, news stories, policies and industry publications. This research shows that public education is an extension of a duplicitous and despotic cultural political economy and thus has never been, nor ever could be, an institution that serves democratic or emancipatory purposes. I contend that it is imprudent to strive to transform public education to serve democratic purposes. My research makes evident how current education policies are a continuation of the original design of public education, yet modernized to bolster the imperious and ubiquitous interests of global financialization. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .....................................................................................................v ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................................1 Background of Study .................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................................6 The neoliberal revolution ...............................................................................6 Back to basics and beyond .............................................................................26 A profile of resistance ....................................................................................31 The public reconsidered .................................................................................37 Purpose Statement ......................................................................................................44 Significance of Research............................................................................................45 Personal Significance .................................................................................................47 Research Questions ....................................................................................................53 Methodology ..............................................................................................................54 viii Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................................55 Key Concepts and Terms ...........................................................................................57 Capitalism ......................................................................................................57 White Supremacy ...........................................................................................58 Imperialism and Empire .................................................................................62 Heteropatriarchy ............................................................................................64 Social Divisions .............................................................................................66 Culture............................................................................................................68 Overview of Dissertation Chapters ............................................................................68