LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations Summer July 2012 A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Education Speeches Adriane Kayoko Peralta Loyola Marymount University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons, and the Education Policy Commons Recommended Citation Peralta, Adriane Kayoko, "A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Education Speeches" (2012). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 241. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/241 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Education Speeches by Adriane Kayoko Peralta A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the School of Education, Loyola Marymount University, in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education 2012 A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Education Speeches Copyright © 2012 by Adriane Kayoko Peralta Loyola Marymount University School of Education Los Angeles, CA 90045 This dissertation written by Adriane Kayoko Peralta, under the direction of the Dissertation Committee, is approved and accepted by all committee members, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my dissertation chair, Dr. Yvette Lapayese, thank you for being so much more than a professor to me. You have been my mentor, sister, and friend. Thank you for truly understanding my work. I am very lucky to have you in my life. To my dissertation committee member, Dr. Mary McCullough, thank you for believing in this project from day one and for encouraging my writing. To my dissertation committee member, Dr. Edmundo Litton, thank you for your insights and for pushing the conversation forward. To my dad, Greg Peralta, for teaching me the value of being a life‐long learner and for reading everything that I ever wrote. To my mom, Janis Peralta, thank you for teaching me compassion and how to be a strong woman with grace. To my brother, Sayre Peralta, thank you for always expecting greatness from me and for never letting me settle for mediocre. iii DEDICATION To my Grandma Wanda, this dissertation is dedicated to you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………………..… iii DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………...……… iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………..………………………………. x LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………..………………………...…… xi ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………..…………………………….. xii CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM……………...……………………. 1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………. 2 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………….... 4 Significance of the Study…………………………………………………………………... 5 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………………. 6 Research Questions………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Research Design and Methodology……………………………………………………. 8 Organization of the Study…………………………………………………………………. 8 CHAPTER TWO: THEORECTICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK………... 10 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Race and Class in Education ……………………………………………………………... 11 Critical Race Theory…………………………………………………………………………. 16 Racism is Endemic…………………………………………………………………. 17 Race is a Social Construct……………………………………………………….. 18 Challenge to Race Neutrality or Colorblindness………………………. 19 v Counter Narrative………………………………………………………………….. 20 Intersectionality……………………………………………………………………. 20 The Intersection of Race and Class………………………………. 22 Interest Convergence Theory…………………………………………………. 25 Formation and Examples of Interest Convergence………... 25 Brown v. Board as an Anti‐Communist Decision…………… 29 School Segregation Today……………………………………………. 31 Whiteness as Property…………………………………………………………… 34 Critical Race Theory and Class……………………………………………….. 37 Context of Schooling in the Obama Era …………………………………………...... 38 Stimulus Aid and Race to the Top…………………………………………… 38 The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act ………………………………………………………………………... 40 Secretary of Education…………………………………………………………… 42 Obama’s Education Policy……………………………………………………… 46 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….. 48 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD……………...……………… 49 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 49 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………. 50 Research Questions………………………………………………………………………….. 50 Setting ……………………………………………………………………………………………... 51 Positionality…………………………………………………………………………………….. 52 vi Speech Presenters…………………………………………………………………………… 52 Research Design………………………………………………………………………………. 54 Data Collection Methods………………………………………………………… 54 Instrumentation…………………………………………………………………….. 58 Limitations to the Study…………………………………………………………. 59 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………. 59 Critical Discourse Analysis………………………………………………………………... 60 Ideology and Hegemony………………………………………………………… 62 Application of Critical Discourse Analysis……………………………….. 64 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………… 65 Organizing the Data……………………………………………………………….. 66 Immersion of the Data…………………………………………………………… 67 Generating Categories and Themes………………………………………… 67 Coding the Data……………………………………………………………………... 68 Writing Analytical Memos……………………………………………………… 68 Offering Interpretations…………………………………………………………. 69 Searching for Alternative Understandings………………………………. 70 Writing the Report………………………………………………………………… 71 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….. 71 vii CHAPTER FOUR: UNDERLYING IDEOLOGIES AND WHITE SELF­INTERESTS…...................................................................................................... 73 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 73 Research Questions……………………………………………………………….. 75 Overview of the Data……………………………………………………………… 75 Findings of Underpinning Ideologies………………………………………………… 78 Education = Economy = Education…………………………………………. 79 “Educating Our Way to a Better Economy”…………………… 79 Financing America’s Future Through Investments………. 81 What the Achievement Gap Will Cost Us………………………. 82 “A Knowledge Economy”……………………………………………... 84 “Our Competition is Growing”………………………………………………… 85 If you’re not first, you’re last………………………………………... 88 Economic Costs of the International Achievement Gap…..89 The “American Dream” and Equal Opportunity……………………….. 91 Poor Students of Color are to Blame……………………………………….. 95 Interest Convergence Analysis…………………………………………………………...99 White Self‐Interest in Closing the Achievement Gap and Curbing Dropouts………………………………………………………………….. 101 White Self‐Interest in Deficit‐Oriented Ideology and Meritocracy…………………………………………………………………………… 111 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………. 115 viii CHAPTER FIVE: PROPOSED SOLUTIONS, WHITE SELF­INTEREST, AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………………………………..……………. 117 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 117 Research Questions……………………………………………………………….. 117 Findings Related to Proposed Solutions……….…………………………………… 118 Race to the Top’s Economic Overtones…………………………………… 118 Higher Standards……………………………………………………….. 120 Turning Around the Lowest Performing Schools………….. 121 The Influence of Economic Ideals……………………………………….… 123 Competition……………………………………………………………….. 124 Privatization………………………………………………………………. 127 Interest Convergence Analysis…………………………………………………………. 129 Improving the Schools that Poor Students of Color Attend……… 131 Solutions Should Not Primarily Serve White Interests………………………. 133 Deficit‐Oriented Ideologies = No Real Remedy for Poor Students of Color……………………………………………………………........... 134 Economic Ideology = No True Solution for Poor Students………... 136 Critique of Interest Convergence Theory…………………………………………… 138 A Recommendation for Strategic Alliances…………………………………………139 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….. 141 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………...……………………………… 142 ix LIST OF TABLES 1. President Obama’s Speeches…………………………………………………………….. 55 2. Secretary of Education Duncan’s Speeches………………………………………… 56 3. Additional Officials’ Speeches……………….…………………………………………... 57 4. Log of Data‐Gathering Activities………………………………………………………... 66 5. Key Words/Ideologies……………………………………………………………………… 67 6. Ideologies and Education Reform Solutions Worksheet…..…………………. 70 7. Number of Coding Instances……………………………………………………………... 77 x LIST OF FIGURES 1. Fairclough’s Application of CDA………………………………………………………... 64 xi ABSTRACT A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Education Speeches By Adriane Kayoko Peralta This qualitative study examined 45 education speeches presented by President Obama and leaders of the U.S. Department of Education from January 2009 through December 2010. These speeches were interpreted with the use of critical discourse analysis and reviewed through the lens of interest convergence theory. The first aim of the researcher was to uncover the underlying ideologies represented in the Obama Administration’s education speeches. The second objective was to understand how those ideologies impacted the Administration’s proposed reform ideas. Specifically, the researcher was interested in how the underpinning ideologies and proposed solutions affected the education of poor students of color. The researcher found four