Politics of Education

Kenneth J. Saltman is Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

'Educating our citizens is a political act, and if teachers are not familiar with how political thought influences them and the system in which they work, they will be buffeted by forces they do not understand and cannot control. This informative book provides insights teachers need. A must-read for the concerned educator.'—David Berliner, Regents Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University'Saltman’s engaging text provides the reader with the critical tools to make sense of the current politics of education. Readers are introduced to complicated concepts in ways that show how they help us deconstruct the dominant discourses and practices. Furthermore, the writings of both well-known and unfortunately neglected theorists are put into context so that their usefulness becomes clear. Highly recommended for the beginning and advanced student of education policy!'—David Hursh, University of Rochester'Teachers need this book because Kenneth Saltman shatters the deep conviction that their work has nothing to do with politics. Each chapter opens up another part of the unacknowledged political imperatives that define the schoolroom—from critical pedagogy as a meaning-making practice to cultural imperialism to what corporate school reform is really about. I needed this book for my first fifteen years as a teacher.'—Susan Ohanian, teacher, educational activist, and author of Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Schools?

• Table of ContentsIntroduction: What Are the "Politics" in the Politics of Education?Chapter One: The Cultural Politics of EducationChapter Two: The Political Economy of EducationChapter Three: The Political Psychology of EducationChapter Four: HegemonyChapter Five: Disciplinary Power, Race, and ExaminationsChapter Six: Biopolitics and EducationChapter Seven: Neoliberalism and Corporate School ReformChapter Eight: The Politics of Gender in the Current Education ReformsChapter Nine: The Politics of Globalization and EducationChapter Ten: The Politics of the Status Quo or a New Common School Movement?Case Studies: Struggles for Critical Education