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Florida's A++ Plan: an Expansion and Expression of Neoliberal and Neoconservative Tenets in State Educational Policy

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Florida's A++ Plan: an Expansion and Expression of Neoliberal and Neoconservative Tenets in State Educational Policy Florida's A++ Plan: An Expansion and Expression of Neoliberal and Neoconservative Tenets in State Educational Policy Author: Matthew Dana Laliberte Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104495 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2015 Copyright is held by the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0). FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN Boston College Lynch School of Education Department of Teacher Education/ Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction Curriculum and Instruction FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN: AN EXPANSION AND EXPRESSION OF NEOLIBERAL AND NEOCONSERVATIVE TENETS IN STATE EDUCATIONAL POLICY Dissertation by MATTHEW D. LALIBERTE submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May, 2015 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN © Copyright by Matthew Dana Laliberte 2015 2 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN ABSTRACT FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN: AN EXPANSION AND EXPRESSION OF NEOLIBERAL AND NEOCONSERVATIVE TENETS IN STATE EDUCATIONAL POLICY by Matthew D. Laliberte Doctor of Philosophy Boston College, May 2015 Dissertation Committee Chair: Dr. Curt Dudley-Marling This critical policy analysis, informed by a qualitative content analysis, examines the ideological orientation of Florida’s A++ Plan (2006), and its incumbent impact upon social reproduction in the state. Utilizing a theoretical framework that fuses together critical theory (Horkheimer, 1937; Marcuse, 1964; Marshall, 1997), Bernstein’s (1971, 1977) three message systems of education and dual concepts of classification and frame, and Collins‘ (1979, 2000, 2002) notion of the Credential Society, the study examines the ideological underpinnings of the A++ Plan’s statutory requirements, and their effects on various school constituencies, including students, teachers, and the schools themselves. !The study’s findings show that neoliberal and neoconservative ideological tenets buttress much of the A++ legislation, advancing four particular ideological imperatives: an allegiance to workforce readiness, a burgeoning system of standardization and accountability, the elevation of traditional values and nationalism, and the championing of individual responsibility. Through the control of Bernstein’s three message systems of education, these ideological imperatives deeply impact public education in Florida, and 3 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN in particular have a disproportionately negative impact upon schools serving high- poverty, high-minority student populations. !New initiatives such as the Major Areas of Interest mandate and the Ready-to- Work Program, both of which are heavily influenced by corporate interests, elevate an ethic of economy that commodifies students. At the same time, the legislation ushers in unprecedented levels of curricular and pedagogical standardization that makes comparisons between students and teachers a reality, while commensurately creating a more competitive climate between schools as a means of promoting school choice throughout the state. Further, the legislation advances a vision of society that is strikingly conservative in tenor through the deliberate manipulation of the state’s History and Health curricula, while simultaneously creating programs such as the Character Development Program that espouse a narrowly construed vision of character. Finally, each of the legislative moves described above are undergirded by an increasing reliance not upon the state, but upon the individual who comes to see her or his choices as the sole arbiters of her or his success or failure, absent any possible mitigating, external factor(s). !The study concludes with recommendations for further research addressing the manifest effects of neoliberal and neoconservative axioms in education, and a call to action targeted at progressive educators to confront these types of “reforms.” It further recommends that policymakers acknowledge that handing the governance of schools and the curriculum therein over to neoliberal and neoconservative ideologues will result in schools that both overtly value instrumental, corporatist outcomes, and purposefully advance a myopic vision of our nation’s collective memory and system of governing 4 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN values. The marriage of neoliberalism and neoconservatism is positioned as antithetical to progressive education, and stands to turn back the clock on issues of equity, social justice, and social mobility. 5 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN Acknowledgements This project spans ten years, five geographic moves across three states, the birth of my three beautiful children, two tragic passings, and hours upon hours of work. Without certain people in my life, this labor of love would not have been possible, starting with my wife, Jessica, whose patience, pressure, passion, and pushing always kept me moving in the right direction. Word don’t express my thanks and gratitude! In addition, my children - Brecken, Cooper, and Finley - supported me throughout the working weekends and late nights, always encouraging me and propelling me forward. And of course my parents, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you all for always believing in me, and for always being the rock I needed when I didn’t think I could see it through to the end. I must also graciously thank my advisor, Dr. Curt Dudley-Marling, whose unwavering commitment to the project, and to me - even in the midst of his retirement - helped make all this possible. Thank you for sticking with me, Curt, I wouldn’t have finished without your kind words, thoughtful feedback, and generous encouragement. I also want to thank Dr. Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Dr. Leigh Patel who, like Curt, were always there to support me, even when this project limped along at times. Your wisdom, support, and ever-astute commentary were essential elements of my success. A few other institutions and people deserve my thanks, praise, and admiration as well. First, many thanks to the generosity of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, The Hillside School, and Saint Andrew’s School whose respective commitments to my professional growth helped bring this project to its fruition. And last, I want to thank my Ph.D. cohort, 6 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN especially Kara, Randall, Swati, and Viktoria who, while not realizing their impact, have always shone like lighthouses for me in this process. 7 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Copyright Page ................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ............................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments .............................................................................................. 6 Table of Contents ................................................................................................ 8 List of Tables ....................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 1: Research Problem ............................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................. 38 Chapter 3: Methodology ...................................................................................... 114 Chapter 4: Neoliberalism and Neoconservatism in the A++ Plan ....................... 143 Chapter 5: Unpacking and Contextualizing the A++ Plan ................................... 188 Chapter 6: Conclusions and Implications for Research, Policy and Practice ..... 262 Appendix A: Comparative Data for High-Poverty/High-Minority and Low- 275 Poverty/Low-Minority Florida High Schools, 2007-2008 ................................ Appendix B: State and Federal Testing Requirements in Florida for K-12 Public 276 School Students ............................................................................................. Appendix C: Word Count - Engrossed (Draft) and Enrolled (Final) Versions of 277 the A++ Plan (HB7087) .................................................................................. Appendix D: Industrial and Business Majors at High-Poverty/High-Minority and 280 Low-Poverty/Low-Minority Florida High Schools, 2007-2008 ........................ Appendix E: Recent Florida and Federal Legislative Context ............................. 281 References .......................................................................................................... 282 8 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Policy Definitions ................................................................................. 32 Table 2.1: Conceptions of Classical Liberalism ................................................... 50 Table 2.2: Distinctions between Classical Liberalism and Neoliberalism ............. 55 Table 3.1: Data Sources and Analytical Framework ............................................ 140 Table 4.1: Word Count in Engrossed/Original and Enrolled/Final A++ Plan ........ 144 Table 5.1: Numbers of Majors at Demographically Different Florida Public High Schools ........................................................................................................... 199 9 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN 10 FLORIDA’S A++ PLAN Chapter One: Research Problem The framing of educational policies through the ideological stances of neoliberalism and neoconservatism has been intensely investigated at the federal level vis-à-vis
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