Rethinking critical approaches to the persistence of inequality in education.

摘要

In the decades since Brown v. Board of Education (1954), critical educational scholarship has vigorously attempted to understand why educational inequality still persists. These approaches have been diverse, but they all maintain a substantial and passionate interest in making educational resources, opportunities, and outcomes better for all students. This dissertation attempts to address the complications within each of the traditions' conception of and attitude towards educational inequality and its persistence. As an alternative perspective, this dissertation offers the application of the writing of political philosopher Brian Barry as a theoretical framework. His work links to elements from each tradition to craft a perspective that attends to values of each approach; however, the proffered framework extends beyond the traditional boundaries to build a broader coalition for social justice and greater egalitarianism. Fundamentally, the thesis of this project is that the language, discourse, and politics of the dominant critical traditions in educational scholarship must find new ideologies, new ways of thinking, and new approaches to social action to advance the causes of their underlying values in order to effectively confront the cultural, economic, and political forces that seek to increase inequality in education and society.