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Papers by Kevin J . Murray

Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 2017

Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grad... more Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grades to schools. Other states are now engaged in deliberation about whether they, too, should adopt such systems. This paper examines A-F accountability systems with respect to three kinds of validity. First, it examines whether or not these accountability systems are valid as a measure, that is, do these systems validly measure school quality? Second, it examines whether or not they are valid as a policy instrument, or, how far do A-F accountability systems fulfill the stated aims of their proponents—empowering parents, providing "simple" and "common sense" measures of educational quality, and so on? Finally, it examines whether or not A-F systems are valid as a democratic framework: how well do these systems align with the broader goals of educating students

National Education Policy Center, 2017

Digital technologies used in schools are increasingly being harnessed to amplify corporate market... more Digital technologies used in schools are increasingly being harnessed to amplify corporate marketing and profit-making and extend the reach of commercializing activities into every aspect of students’ school lives. In addition to the long-standing goal of providing brand exposure, marketing through education technology now routinely engages students in activities that facilitate the collection of valuable personal data and that socialize students to accept relentless monitoring and surveillance as normal.

This year’s 19th annual report on schoolhouse commercialism trends examines how technological advances, the lure of “personalization,” and lax regulation foster the collection of personal data and have overwhelmed efforts to protect children’s privacy.

National Education Policy Center, 2015

Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grad... more Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grades to schools. Other states are now engaged in deliberation about whether they, too, should adopt such systems. This paper examines A-F accountability systems with respect to three kinds of validity. First, it examines whether or not they are valid as a measure. That is, do these systems validly measure school quality? Second, it examines whether or not they are valid as a policy instrument. That is, how far do A-F accountability systems fulfill the stated aims of their proponents—empowering parents, providing “simple” and “common sense” measures of educational quality, and so on? Finally, it examines whether or not A-F systems are valid as a democratic framework. That is, how well do these systems align with the broader goals of educating students for democratic citizenship and of incorporating parents and community members in democratic deliberation about policies for their public schools? The paper concludes that A-F accountability systems are invalid along each of these lines, and provides recommendations for democratically developing and implementing criteria for school assessment.

Educational Theory, 2015

In this review essay Kevin Murray and Dan Liston examine three texts in what this symposium has d... more In this review essay Kevin Murray and Dan Liston examine three texts in what this symposium has deemed the recent resurgence in neo-Marxist accounts of schooling: David Blacker's The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame, Mike Cole's Marxism and Educational Theory, and John Marsh's Class Dismissed. Murray and Liston argue that Blacker, Cole, and Marsh provide a much-needed structural delineation of schooling in capitalist society. All three works have substantial merit and are in need of minor adjustments. Blacker's vision is telling and chilling but may need some fine-tuning; Cole's defense of Marxism is commendable but tends toward the disembodied abstract; and Marsh's text capably highlights educationists' blinders but seems to miss elements of a critical structural account. While recognizing real limitations on transformative education under capitalism, Murray and Liston nevertheless elaborate a variation of the radical humanist project. It is their skeletal attempt at an educationally and morally defensible reparative theory.

Unlike its predecessors, the 2010 PCAST report on STEM education calls for a significant increase... more Unlike its predecessors, the 2010 PCAST report on STEM education calls for a significant increase in the number of students of color pursuing STEM careers. While the report suggests various ways to begin to pursue the is goal, it
fails to identify the need for a significant increase in the number of teachers of color in STEM education. With specific consideration to the PCAST report, this paper explores rationales behind the need for more STEM teachers of color and the evidence that supports those rationales.

Philosophy of Education 2014, 2014

Dissertation by Kevin J . Murray

This dissertation comprises three independent but related papers (chapters 2-4), framed by an int... more This dissertation comprises three independent but related papers (chapters 2-4), framed by an introduction (chapter 1) and a conclusion (chapter 5). The main theme of the work is that democracy should be seen as foundational to – prior to – education research. Drawing on pragmatism and feminist philosophy of science, I make the case that democracy is threaded into the constitutive fabric of good education research and, indeed, of good social science in general. The benefits of democratic values for education research are at once ethical and epistemic. Education research suffers when it is not thoroughly permeated by democratic values. But many education researchers continue to neglect the epistemic significance of democracy for education research. They chase after
“pure” education research, insulated from moral and political values, to set education research on absolute foundations. I contend that the hunt for pure education research should be abandoned once and for all: it is unattainable, grounded in a fatally flawed conception of social science, and would prove, in any case, undesirable in democratic society. I argue that neoliberalism, in particular, has powerfully incentivized the quest for
pure education research, pushing many education researchers to adopt a prestigious but wrong-headed and anti-democratic model of social science.

Edited Journal Issues by Kevin J . Murray

Educational Theory , 2015

Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 2017

Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grad... more Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grades to schools. Other states are now engaged in deliberation about whether they, too, should adopt such systems. This paper examines A-F accountability systems with respect to three kinds of validity. First, it examines whether or not these accountability systems are valid as a measure, that is, do these systems validly measure school quality? Second, it examines whether or not they are valid as a policy instrument, or, how far do A-F accountability systems fulfill the stated aims of their proponents—empowering parents, providing "simple" and "common sense" measures of educational quality, and so on? Finally, it examines whether or not A-F systems are valid as a democratic framework: how well do these systems align with the broader goals of educating students

National Education Policy Center, 2017

Digital technologies used in schools are increasingly being harnessed to amplify corporate market... more Digital technologies used in schools are increasingly being harnessed to amplify corporate marketing and profit-making and extend the reach of commercializing activities into every aspect of students’ school lives. In addition to the long-standing goal of providing brand exposure, marketing through education technology now routinely engages students in activities that facilitate the collection of valuable personal data and that socialize students to accept relentless monitoring and surveillance as normal.

This year’s 19th annual report on schoolhouse commercialism trends examines how technological advances, the lure of “personalization,” and lax regulation foster the collection of personal data and have overwhelmed efforts to protect children’s privacy.

National Education Policy Center, 2015

Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grad... more Sixteen states have adopted school report card accountability systems that assign A-F letter grades to schools. Other states are now engaged in deliberation about whether they, too, should adopt such systems. This paper examines A-F accountability systems with respect to three kinds of validity. First, it examines whether or not they are valid as a measure. That is, do these systems validly measure school quality? Second, it examines whether or not they are valid as a policy instrument. That is, how far do A-F accountability systems fulfill the stated aims of their proponents—empowering parents, providing “simple” and “common sense” measures of educational quality, and so on? Finally, it examines whether or not A-F systems are valid as a democratic framework. That is, how well do these systems align with the broader goals of educating students for democratic citizenship and of incorporating parents and community members in democratic deliberation about policies for their public schools? The paper concludes that A-F accountability systems are invalid along each of these lines, and provides recommendations for democratically developing and implementing criteria for school assessment.

Educational Theory, 2015

In this review essay Kevin Murray and Dan Liston examine three texts in what this symposium has d... more In this review essay Kevin Murray and Dan Liston examine three texts in what this symposium has deemed the recent resurgence in neo-Marxist accounts of schooling: David Blacker's The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame, Mike Cole's Marxism and Educational Theory, and John Marsh's Class Dismissed. Murray and Liston argue that Blacker, Cole, and Marsh provide a much-needed structural delineation of schooling in capitalist society. All three works have substantial merit and are in need of minor adjustments. Blacker's vision is telling and chilling but may need some fine-tuning; Cole's defense of Marxism is commendable but tends toward the disembodied abstract; and Marsh's text capably highlights educationists' blinders but seems to miss elements of a critical structural account. While recognizing real limitations on transformative education under capitalism, Murray and Liston nevertheless elaborate a variation of the radical humanist project. It is their skeletal attempt at an educationally and morally defensible reparative theory.

Unlike its predecessors, the 2010 PCAST report on STEM education calls for a significant increase... more Unlike its predecessors, the 2010 PCAST report on STEM education calls for a significant increase in the number of students of color pursuing STEM careers. While the report suggests various ways to begin to pursue the is goal, it
fails to identify the need for a significant increase in the number of teachers of color in STEM education. With specific consideration to the PCAST report, this paper explores rationales behind the need for more STEM teachers of color and the evidence that supports those rationales.

Philosophy of Education 2014, 2014

This dissertation comprises three independent but related papers (chapters 2-4), framed by an int... more This dissertation comprises three independent but related papers (chapters 2-4), framed by an introduction (chapter 1) and a conclusion (chapter 5). The main theme of the work is that democracy should be seen as foundational to – prior to – education research. Drawing on pragmatism and feminist philosophy of science, I make the case that democracy is threaded into the constitutive fabric of good education research and, indeed, of good social science in general. The benefits of democratic values for education research are at once ethical and epistemic. Education research suffers when it is not thoroughly permeated by democratic values. But many education researchers continue to neglect the epistemic significance of democracy for education research. They chase after
“pure” education research, insulated from moral and political values, to set education research on absolute foundations. I contend that the hunt for pure education research should be abandoned once and for all: it is unattainable, grounded in a fatally flawed conception of social science, and would prove, in any case, undesirable in democratic society. I argue that neoliberalism, in particular, has powerfully incentivized the quest for
pure education research, pushing many education researchers to adopt a prestigious but wrong-headed and anti-democratic model of social science.

Educational Theory , 2015