Postcolonial Analysis of Educational Research Discourse
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POSTCOLONIAL ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH DISCOURSE: CREATING (MEXICAN) AMERICAN CHILDREN AS THE “OTHER” A Dissertation by ARACELI RIVAS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2005 Major Subject: Educational Psychology © 2005 ARACELI RIVAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED POSTCOLONIAL ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH DISCOURSE: CREATING (MEXICAN) AMERICAN CHILDREN AS THE “OTHER” A Dissertation by ARACELI RIVAS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Co-Chairs of Committee, Gaile Cannella Michael J. Ash Committee Members, Rogelio Saenz Karla Anhalt Head of Department, Michael R. Benz August 2005 Major Subject: Educational Psychology iii ABSTRACT Postcolonial Analysis of Educational Research Discourse: Creating (Mexican) American Children as the “Other.” (August 2005) Araceli Rivas, B.A., University of Notre Dame Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Gaile Cannella Dr. Michael Ash Research is a modern practice whose production of knowledge needs to be critically and continually examined. The pursuit of knowledge is not a neutral and objective endeavor; it is a socially situated practice that is embedded within power/knowledge/culture configurations. Historically, research discourses have labeled and positioned minority groups to an inferiority/superiority matrix, illustrating how research can create an oppressive otherness/alterity. Thus, the general purpose of this study was to critically critique research from the postcolonial perspectives of alterity and colonial discourse. In particular, the study sought to deconstruct the conceptual systems that create the alterity of (Mexican) American children within research discourse. The study was in part guided by Said’s (1978) analysis of the colonial discourse in Orientalism. There were two parts to the study that analyzed one hundred and nineteen research documents from 1980-2004. Phase I identified the discursive themes that construct that alterity of (Mexican) Americans by employing a qualitative content analysis method. Phase II employed a discourse analysis method to deconstruct the conceptual systems and sites of power in the production of knowledge that position (Mexican) Americans as objects of research. iv The analysis disclosed that the conceptual systems that construct the alterity of (Mexican) Americans are framed by modern and colonial research structures that project a hegemonic Westernized vision of research, education, and human existence. Under these conceptual structures, there are multiple levels of alterity ascribed to (Mexican) Americans that continue to (re)inscribe positions of inferiority; as objects of research, they are constantly placed in a comparative framework against the dominant cultural norms. Some of the key sites of power in the production of knowledge about (Mexican) Americans are illustrated by the researcher (as author) and the university (as a privileged location). The conclusions problematized research as an apparatus that reconstructs hierarchical differences and reinscribes colonial relationships where the Other is defined only from a Western and culturally dominant perspective of separateness. v DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my Creator whose infinite love has given me the gift of life. I also dedicate it to my parents, Laura Alicia and Gildardo, my brothers and sisters, as well as my three little angels. Lastly, I dedicate this to my ancestors, the Mechica people, especially my abuelas (grandmothers), Laura and Dolores. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like express my gratitude to my family and friends for their diverse expressions of encouragement and unconditional love. A special thanks to Gaile Cannella for her guidance and for providing me with the critical space to expand my academic horizons. Thank you to my all my committee members as well as to those teachers and professors that have enriched my academic trajectory. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 Purpose of Study ............................................................................................. 2 Rationale.......................................................................................................... 3 Overview of Methodology .............................................................................. 7 Organization of Study ..................................................................................... 8 Perspectives and Possibilities.......................................................................... 10 II LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................ 12 Formations of Modern Research................................................................... 13 The Matrix of Social Science Research ............................................ 14 Racialized Discourse......................................................................... 16 Patriarchy and Research.................................................................... 22 Key Sites of Research ....................................................................... 24 Researcher and Researched........................................................................... 29 Discourses of (Mexican) Americans in Education........................................ 35 Segregation........................................................................................ 36 Intellectual Ability............................................................................. 43 Underprivileged/Disadvantaged........................................................ 50 Bilingualism ...................................................................................... 54 Postcolonial Theorizing................................................................................. 60 Postcolonial Critique and Theory...................................................... 61 Locating the Term Postcolonial ........................................................ 63 Subjectivity and the Postcolonial Subject ......................................... 65 Othering/Alterity ............................................................................... 68 Colonial Discourse ............................................................................ 71 viii CHAPTER Page Discourse and the Relationship Between Power and Knowledge..... 73 Chapter II Review ......................................................................................... 79 III METHODOLOGY......................................................................................... 81 General Procedures ....................................................................................... 83 Document Selection ...................................................................................... 83 Time Frame ....................................................................................... 83 Limitations of Database .................................................................... 83 Research Documents ......................................................................... 84 Phase I ........................................................................................................... 85 Content Analysis ................................................................................. 86 Phase II.......................................................................................................... 87 Theoretical Foundations.................................................................... 87 Research Questions ........................................................................... 88 Discourse Analysis............................................................................ 91 Chapter III Review........................................................................................ 92 IV PHASE I RESULTS ...................................................................................... 94 The Inscription of (Mexican) Americans/Latinos as Educationally Lacking................................................................................... 95 Miseducation/Underachievement...................................................... 95 Dropouts............................................................................................ 100 Locations of Blame ........................................................................... 106 Utopian Formulas.............................................................................. 114 Reinscribing Measurement with Discussions of Bias and Giftedness............................................................................................... 119 The Individual Definable Self......................................................................