Confronting complexities of public school integration: School district leaders of diversity and equity navigating the professional, the personal, and the political

University of Minnesota Ph.D. August 2013. Major: Educational Policy and Administration. Advisor: Peter Demerath. 1 computer file (PDF): v, 238 pages.This dissertation is an in-depth ethnographic investigation of how local school district equity and diversity coordinators work within policy constraints and respond to particular local demands. The findings presented in this document are drawn from four years spent exploring the implementation of school integration policy in the state of Minnesota through observation of leaders' professional networks, legislative and department of education meetings and hearings, visits to three communities selected as case study sites, and a statewide survey of leaders in districts receiving integration revenue. Using a sociocultural approach to policy studies along with critical discourse analysis, this research examines community values and actions in the wider context of demographic shifts in public schools across the country, and highlights the localized nature of much educational policy. This work seeks broadly to explore practices designed to develop multicultural understanding, and examine the impact of policies that address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic integration in public schools

Contestação política e discursos de sentido: Revisão escola receita integração estatuto de Minnesota

The integration of students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in public schools has been an issue of educational policy concern for several decades. Most school desegregation programs implemented in the United States post-Brown that relied on student busing and race-based school assignment were discontinued by the 1990s. In Minnesota, these were replaced with an approach that encouraged voluntary school integration efforts, supported with funding provided through State Statute 124D.86 to districts with racially identifiable schools or whose schools were racially isolated relative to neighboring communities. A legislatively mandated Integration Revenue Replacement Advisory Task Force was convened from November 2011 to February 2012 to frame the role of the state’s schools in addressing racial inequities and to recommend changes to existing policy. This article applies Fairclough and Fairclough’s (2012) analytic framework of political discourse as argumentation to examine the revision of this statute as a site of ideological contestation. The appointed members of this task force included professional educators, former legislators, faith leaders, and lawyers, and presented distinct epistemological beliefs regarding the purposes and roles of schools and of policy. Two competing claims for action were identified, summarized as “Bipartisan Compromise” and “Conservative Dissent.” This analysis reveals the effect of underlying values on developing particular claims for action made by Task Force members, and connects these values to divergent understandings of the purpose of state educational funding and the outcomes that public schooling should achieve.La integración de los estudiantes de diversos orígenes raciales y étnicos en las escuelas públicas ha sido un motivo de preocupación política educativa desde hace varias décadas.La mayoría de los programas de integración de las escuelas post-Brown que dependían de transporte escolar del estudiante y la asignación de la escuela basada en la raza se interrumpieron por la década de 1990. En Minnesota, que fueron reemplazados con un enfoque que alienta los esfuerzos de integración voluntaria de la escuela apoyado con fondos proporcionados por el Estado Estatuto 124D.86 para los distritos con escuelas racialmente identificables o cuyas escuelas fueron racialmente aislada de las comunidades de los alrededores. Un reemplazo de Integración de Impuestos Asesor Grupo de Trabajo se reunió del 11 2011 hasta febrero 2012 para enmarcar el papel de las escuelas del estado para hacer frente a las desigualdades raciales y recomendar cambios en la política existente. Este artículo se aplica un marco analítico del discurso político como argumentación (Fairlough y Fairlough, 2012) para examinar la revisión de esta ley como un lugar de cuestionamiento ideológico. Los miembros nombrados este grupo de trabajo incluyó educadores profesionales, ex legisladores, líderes religiosos y abogados, y presentan diferentes creencias epistemológicas en relación con los propósitos y funciones de las escuelas y la política. Se identificaron dos demandas que compiten por acción, que se resumen como “acuerdo bipartidista” y “desacuerdo conservadora”. Este análisis muestra el efecto de los valores que subyace en el desarrollo de las reclamaciones de acción específicos realizados por los miembros del Grupo de Trabajo, y estos valores se conecta a las diferentes ideas de la finalidad de la financiación educativa del estado y los resultados que la educación pública debe lograr.A integração de estudantes de diversas origens raciais e étnicas nas escolas públicas tem sido um assunto de preocupação política educacional por várias décadas. A maioria dos programas de integração das escolas pós-Brown dependia estudante büsing e alocação de escola baseada em raça foram interrompidos na década de 1990. Em Minnesota, estes foram substituídos com uma abordagem que incentivou os esforços de integração escolar voluntária, apoiada com financiamento fornecido através de Estado Estatuto 124D.86 para os distritos com as escolas racialmente identificáveis ou cujas escolas eram racialmente isolado em relação a comunidades vizinhas. Un reemplazo de Integración de Impuestos Asesor Grupo de Trabajo se reunió del 11 2011 hasta febrero 2012 para enmarcar el papel de las escuelas del estado para hacer frente a las desigualdades raciales y recomendar cambios en la política existente. Este artigo apresenta uma estrutura analítica do discurso político e argumentação (Fairlough e Fairlough, 2012) aplica-se a discutir a revisão desta lei como um lugar de questionamento ideológico. Os membros nomeados desta força-tarefa incluiu educadores profissionais, ex-legisladores, líderes religiosos e advogados, e apresentou crenças epistemológicas distintas em relação às finalidades e papéis de escolas e da política. Foram identificadas duas reivindicações concorrentes para a ação, resumido como "acordo bipartidário" e "Dissent conservador." Esta análise mostra o efeito dos valores subjacentes ao desenvolvimento dos pedidos de ação específica realizada pelos membros do Grupo de Trabalho, e estes valores estão ligados às idéias diferentes de efeitos de financiamento educacional do estado e os resultados a educação pública deve alcançar

School Integration in Twin Cities Metro Area Interdistrict Collaboratives: Implementation and Interpretation of the Minnesota State Desegregation/Integration Rule

University of Minnesota Master of Arts thesis. December 2009. Major: Education Policy and Administration. Advisor: Peter Demerath. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 147 pages.Understanding issues of racial and socioeconomic segregation in schools is one way of examining equity in educational policy. This thesis elucidates and explains the social, legal and political context of the contemporary school desegregation debate in Minnesota by investigating access to and use of integration resources in the state's largest urban center. The relationship between policy design and policy implementation in the area of school integration in Minnesota is explored using a case study analysis approach which contrasts four models of interdistrict collaboration in terms of organization, management and resource distribution. The role of decision-makers, front-line service providers, students and families is examined by identifying particular cultural assumptions that place integration goals in the context of other educational priorities

Toward Common Ground: The Uses of Educational Anthropology in Multicultural Education

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