T. Jameson Brewer | University of North Georgia (original) (raw)
Books by T. Jameson Brewer
Myers Education Press, 2019
Teachers College Press, 2019
Articles by T. Jameson Brewer
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2018
Each year Forbes bestows a handful of “edu-preneurs” with the 30 Under 30 Award in Education (Und... more Each year Forbes bestows a handful of “edu-preneurs” with the 30 Under 30 Award in Education (Under30), designating those individuals as the best hope for revolutionizing and reforming education. Boasting low recipient rates, Forbes elevates the manufactured expertise of awardees and the importance of their organizations and ventures. Further, Forbes employs the language and norms of neoliberalism to articulate a pro-market vision of education reform. This social network analytic (SNA) study seeks to untangle the edu-preneur network and critically examine the connections between awardees, their organizations, judges, and the larger education reform network. To this end, we utilized descriptive analyses and SNA. We find evidence that Under30 serves as a mechanism for promoting social closure and ideological homophily within education reform networks. Further, we consider the policy implications that such awards may have on public discourse and policy creation.
Journal of Family Strengths, 2018
In this article we outline how notions of accountability and the achievement gap have relied upon... more In this article we outline how notions of accountability and the achievement gap have relied upon the massive expansion of high-stakes exams in our nation’s schools. Texas-style test and punish accountability manifested in various ways within schools and school culture across the nation via NCLB, which undermined notions of trust within education. More than decade of national education policy focused on high-stakes testing and accountability—despite that the fact that the rise of high-stakes testing also involved considerable legal, ethical, and social considerations. We argue the practice of spending large amounts of time on test preparation and test taking must be reversed lest we continue on the path of maintaining schools solely as machinery for stratification. We conclude that market- and business-oriented ideology, has reinforced the racist under- and overtones of testocracy in the United States and has neither closed the achievement gap nor fomented meaningful accountability or success.
Critical Questions in Education, 2018
The predominance of research and data examining public education privatization in Chicago indicat... more The predominance of research and data examining public education privatization in Chicago indicate that there are few financial savings, decreased student achievement, increased racial inequality, increased class size, and increased violence. Considering these outcomes, educators and community-based stakeholders have not remained silent in the face of this apparent injustice. In this paper, we examine teacher and community- based activism in Chicago situated amongst the local and broader reform efforts to which they fight against. We focus on strategies implemented by educator and commu- nity-based activists in response to the broader aims of school reforms, those specific to Chicago, and more broadly across the United States. We conclude by discussing the implications of the strategies that have been borne out of the activism in Chicago as well as across the country.
This article provides an exploratory overview of the history of homeschooling in the United State... more This article provides an exploratory overview of the history of homeschooling in the United States in addition to examining some of the claims made by advocacy organizations. There are two broad categories of rationales for homeschooling: (1) empirical — claims of greater efficiency, effectiveness, or pedagogical appropriateness; and (2) ideological – often informed by a religious or political disposition. A detailed discussion of both rationales is provided. First examined are claims made by homeschooling advocates related to effectiveness and efficiency, finding that this rationale does not have the same validity that ideological rationales like religion and safety may have. Finally, these rationales are cast against the backdrop of the aims of education as a mechanism for the collective good or for the individual good.
Peabody Journal of Education, 91(4), 455-472.
Authors: T. Jameson Brewer, Kerry Kretchmar, Beth Sondel, Sarah Ishmael, Meghan Manfra
Critical Questions in Education (in press)
Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. With... more Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. Without doubt, “fixing” teachers and increasing student test scores have both been a large component of much of the reform rhetoric. Moreover, calls for implementing merit pay schemes have uniquely combined reformer’s efforts to “fix” teachers while increasing test scores as teacher pay is linked directly to student academic achievement. This article traces the historical use of merit pay schemes, situates the current push for merit pay within the neoliberal education reform movement, while highlighting the overt and covert implications of injecting competition into teacher salaries. In addition to creating an environment that lends itself to narrowed pedagogical approaches and teaching to tests (and even cheating on them), this article suggests that merit pay schemes that require teachers to compete with one another likely undermines collaboration.
Authors: T. Jameson Brewer, Paul Myers, & Michael Zhang
Critical Education (in press)
Teach For America (TFA), a teaching not-for-profit organization that recruits and places non-cert... more Teach For America (TFA), a teaching not-for-profit organization that recruits and places non-certified teachers in traditionally difficult to staff schools and districts, has without doubt helped shape the growing conversation of education reform. And while this contribution can be found in the teachers it trains and the alumni who venture into education leadership roles, it can be readily found in the realm of media, and in particular, the social media of Twitter. This paper provides an analysis of 15,304 “tweets” that originated from TFA and its top officers as well as all “tweets” including the “hashtag” of #TFA. As an exploratory analysis of the content and audience of tweets sent by core TFA individuals and including TFA related “hashtags,” we show that TFA rarely engages with critics as it uses the media of Twitter to reinforce its reform rhetoric within its own reform coalition. Moreover, we assert that the action of ignoring questions and counter-narratives in social media, for example, is grounded on the assumption that neoliberal educational reforms are seemingly above reproach and beyond critique.
Education Policy Analysis Archives (in press)
Locally and globally among policymakers and edupreneurs, what constitutes “good teaching and lear... more Locally and globally among policymakers and edupreneurs, what constitutes “good teaching and learning” is highly contested, and prototypes that seem to embody “what works” are highly valued. In the United States, many accept Teach For America (TFA) as an exemplar of “what works.” As its U.S. operations continue to grow, TFA has recalibrated and expanded into Teach for All, an international organization with extensive reach. Teach For All not only finds historic roots in TFA, but it reflects TFA’s intentional expansion of its theory of change and implementation on a global scale. This exploratory essay investigates the linkages between TFA and TFAll, focusing on theory and implementation of education reform by comparing domestic TFA ideology and practices with those of TFAll. Also, we conceptualize the dimensions and anatomy of a global network of IOs engaged in global education reform. In addition to providing insight on TFAll, our broader goal is to build the knowledge base around what we are calling global Intermediary Organization Networks (IONs).
Australian Educational Researcher, 2015, 1-19. Authors: Christopher Lubienski, T. Jameson Brewer... more Australian Educational Researcher, 2015, 1-19.
Authors: Christopher Lubienski, T. Jameson Brewer, & Priya La Londe
Educational Studies 50(3), 246-263
This article seeks to characterize Teach For America's (TFA) theoretical framework as engendering... more This article seeks to characterize Teach For America's (TFA) theoretical framework as engendering disillusionment among its corps members. Given that the corps members have little to no pedagogical or methods training prior to taking on teaching positions through TFA, the lessons learned during the summer training set the stage for the foundational beliefs corps members have about teaching and learning. Specifically, TFA employs a framework known as the Academic Impact Model that posits that good teachers can overcome the ailments of socioeconomic disparities if they subscribe to notions of hyper-teacher-accountability. It is this false sense of reality that creates the opportunity for disillusionment and burnout among TFA's corps members.
Authors: Christopher Lubienski, Tiffany Puckett, & T. Jameson Brewer The phenomenal growth of ho... more Authors: Christopher Lubienski, Tiffany Puckett, & T. Jameson Brewer
The phenomenal growth of homeschooling in recent years demonstrates not only the appeal of this educational approach but also the notable policy acumen of the homeschooling movement's leading advocates. This analysis examines and critiques the empirical claims made by homeschooling proponents to justify further expansion and deregulation of the movement, and sheds light on the homeschool advocacy agenda explicit in those claims. Advocates often strongly suggest a causal connection between homeschooling and academic success, postsecondary attainment, and even enjoyment of life. Seemingly, these benefits are experienced all at a reduced cost per student. It is through such claims that homeschooling advocates have expanded the practice of homeschooling and have pressed for fewer state regulations and less oversight. This article outlines and challenges those claims, showing the tenuous basis for such conclusions. Instead, in an era when policymakers demand evidence of effective educational practices, we note the remarkable lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of this popular approach and suggest that continued efforts to claim such evidence exists indicates the desire of advocates to further advance what is largely an ideological agenda of deregulation as an end in itself.
Critical Education. 4(12)
This article provides a unique voice on the alternative certification program known as Teach for ... more This article provides a unique voice on the alternative certification program known as Teach for America’s (TFA). As a traditionally trained educator who entered TFA as a corps member, the author brings a unique auto-ethnographic perspective on TFA. Combining personal insights with data and theory, the paper addresses TFA’s recruiting practices, the application and interview processes, Institute practices and use of indoctrination, a holistic overview of TFA’s neoliberal theoretical approach to pedagogy, and TFA’s final regional placement of its corps members. As TFA continues to grow to over 10,000 corps members, critical examination is necessary as TFA becomes evermore present in our nation’s schools.
International Journal of Play. 1(3) 231-241
This article seeks to characterize Norwegian kindergarten pedagogy as specifically Rousseauian in... more This article seeks to characterize Norwegian kindergarten pedagogy as specifically Rousseauian in nature and approach. As a reflective article, my experience of pedagogical methods of play employed at an outdoor kindergarten in Norway are analyzed and compared to my experience of American schooling. Norwegian kindergartens that employ such Rousseauian practices reinforce Norway's dedication to fostering an egalitarian society beginning with the youngest learners.
Book Chapters by T. Jameson Brewer
Assault on Kids and Teachers: Countering privatization, deficit ideologies and standardization of U.S. schools, 2018
Although research and policy discourses analyzing and comparing the effectiveness and drawbacks o... more Although research and policy discourses analyzing and comparing the effectiveness and drawbacks of the various reforms in this chapter, whether top-down or grassroots, are far from new, the knowledge base concerning how such efforts should take place, by whom, and the degree to which they are sustainable remain underdeveloped. Hence, in light of a detailed review of the emergence and limitation of top-down reforms in education, the purpose of this chapter is to first discuss the reframing of neoliberal discriminatory policies as “Civil Rights.” We will then articulate “what instead?” ought to serve as better approaches to reform. In doing so, we identify and provide a conceptual understanding of bottom-up reforms that are emerging in the field and offer examples of community-based education reforms with the best potential to shift political capital, institutional control, and goals for teaching and learning back to communities.
(in press) In R. Ahlquist, P. C. Gorski & T. Montano (Eds.), Assault on Kids and Teachers: Counte... more (in press)
In R. Ahlquist, P. C. Gorski & T. Montano (Eds.), Assault on Kids and Teachers: Countering Privatization, Deficit Ideologies and Standardization of U.S. Schools. New York: Peter Lang.
(in press) In N. Hartlep (Ed.), The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher ... more (in press)
In N. Hartlep (Ed.), The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education: Voices of Students and Faculty. New York, NY: Routledge.
Authors: Dan Collier, T. Jameson Brewer, P. S. Myers, & Allison Witt
Myers Education Press, 2019
Teachers College Press, 2019
Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2018
Each year Forbes bestows a handful of “edu-preneurs” with the 30 Under 30 Award in Education (Und... more Each year Forbes bestows a handful of “edu-preneurs” with the 30 Under 30 Award in Education (Under30), designating those individuals as the best hope for revolutionizing and reforming education. Boasting low recipient rates, Forbes elevates the manufactured expertise of awardees and the importance of their organizations and ventures. Further, Forbes employs the language and norms of neoliberalism to articulate a pro-market vision of education reform. This social network analytic (SNA) study seeks to untangle the edu-preneur network and critically examine the connections between awardees, their organizations, judges, and the larger education reform network. To this end, we utilized descriptive analyses and SNA. We find evidence that Under30 serves as a mechanism for promoting social closure and ideological homophily within education reform networks. Further, we consider the policy implications that such awards may have on public discourse and policy creation.
Journal of Family Strengths, 2018
In this article we outline how notions of accountability and the achievement gap have relied upon... more In this article we outline how notions of accountability and the achievement gap have relied upon the massive expansion of high-stakes exams in our nation’s schools. Texas-style test and punish accountability manifested in various ways within schools and school culture across the nation via NCLB, which undermined notions of trust within education. More than decade of national education policy focused on high-stakes testing and accountability—despite that the fact that the rise of high-stakes testing also involved considerable legal, ethical, and social considerations. We argue the practice of spending large amounts of time on test preparation and test taking must be reversed lest we continue on the path of maintaining schools solely as machinery for stratification. We conclude that market- and business-oriented ideology, has reinforced the racist under- and overtones of testocracy in the United States and has neither closed the achievement gap nor fomented meaningful accountability or success.
Critical Questions in Education, 2018
The predominance of research and data examining public education privatization in Chicago indicat... more The predominance of research and data examining public education privatization in Chicago indicate that there are few financial savings, decreased student achievement, increased racial inequality, increased class size, and increased violence. Considering these outcomes, educators and community-based stakeholders have not remained silent in the face of this apparent injustice. In this paper, we examine teacher and community- based activism in Chicago situated amongst the local and broader reform efforts to which they fight against. We focus on strategies implemented by educator and commu- nity-based activists in response to the broader aims of school reforms, those specific to Chicago, and more broadly across the United States. We conclude by discussing the implications of the strategies that have been borne out of the activism in Chicago as well as across the country.
This article provides an exploratory overview of the history of homeschooling in the United State... more This article provides an exploratory overview of the history of homeschooling in the United States in addition to examining some of the claims made by advocacy organizations. There are two broad categories of rationales for homeschooling: (1) empirical — claims of greater efficiency, effectiveness, or pedagogical appropriateness; and (2) ideological – often informed by a religious or political disposition. A detailed discussion of both rationales is provided. First examined are claims made by homeschooling advocates related to effectiveness and efficiency, finding that this rationale does not have the same validity that ideological rationales like religion and safety may have. Finally, these rationales are cast against the backdrop of the aims of education as a mechanism for the collective good or for the individual good.
Peabody Journal of Education, 91(4), 455-472.
Authors: T. Jameson Brewer, Kerry Kretchmar, Beth Sondel, Sarah Ishmael, Meghan Manfra
Critical Questions in Education (in press)
Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. With... more Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. Without doubt, “fixing” teachers and increasing student test scores have both been a large component of much of the reform rhetoric. Moreover, calls for implementing merit pay schemes have uniquely combined reformer’s efforts to “fix” teachers while increasing test scores as teacher pay is linked directly to student academic achievement. This article traces the historical use of merit pay schemes, situates the current push for merit pay within the neoliberal education reform movement, while highlighting the overt and covert implications of injecting competition into teacher salaries. In addition to creating an environment that lends itself to narrowed pedagogical approaches and teaching to tests (and even cheating on them), this article suggests that merit pay schemes that require teachers to compete with one another likely undermines collaboration.
Authors: T. Jameson Brewer, Paul Myers, & Michael Zhang
Critical Education (in press)
Teach For America (TFA), a teaching not-for-profit organization that recruits and places non-cert... more Teach For America (TFA), a teaching not-for-profit organization that recruits and places non-certified teachers in traditionally difficult to staff schools and districts, has without doubt helped shape the growing conversation of education reform. And while this contribution can be found in the teachers it trains and the alumni who venture into education leadership roles, it can be readily found in the realm of media, and in particular, the social media of Twitter. This paper provides an analysis of 15,304 “tweets” that originated from TFA and its top officers as well as all “tweets” including the “hashtag” of #TFA. As an exploratory analysis of the content and audience of tweets sent by core TFA individuals and including TFA related “hashtags,” we show that TFA rarely engages with critics as it uses the media of Twitter to reinforce its reform rhetoric within its own reform coalition. Moreover, we assert that the action of ignoring questions and counter-narratives in social media, for example, is grounded on the assumption that neoliberal educational reforms are seemingly above reproach and beyond critique.
Education Policy Analysis Archives (in press)
Locally and globally among policymakers and edupreneurs, what constitutes “good teaching and lear... more Locally and globally among policymakers and edupreneurs, what constitutes “good teaching and learning” is highly contested, and prototypes that seem to embody “what works” are highly valued. In the United States, many accept Teach For America (TFA) as an exemplar of “what works.” As its U.S. operations continue to grow, TFA has recalibrated and expanded into Teach for All, an international organization with extensive reach. Teach For All not only finds historic roots in TFA, but it reflects TFA’s intentional expansion of its theory of change and implementation on a global scale. This exploratory essay investigates the linkages between TFA and TFAll, focusing on theory and implementation of education reform by comparing domestic TFA ideology and practices with those of TFAll. Also, we conceptualize the dimensions and anatomy of a global network of IOs engaged in global education reform. In addition to providing insight on TFAll, our broader goal is to build the knowledge base around what we are calling global Intermediary Organization Networks (IONs).
Australian Educational Researcher, 2015, 1-19. Authors: Christopher Lubienski, T. Jameson Brewer... more Australian Educational Researcher, 2015, 1-19.
Authors: Christopher Lubienski, T. Jameson Brewer, & Priya La Londe
Educational Studies 50(3), 246-263
This article seeks to characterize Teach For America's (TFA) theoretical framework as engendering... more This article seeks to characterize Teach For America's (TFA) theoretical framework as engendering disillusionment among its corps members. Given that the corps members have little to no pedagogical or methods training prior to taking on teaching positions through TFA, the lessons learned during the summer training set the stage for the foundational beliefs corps members have about teaching and learning. Specifically, TFA employs a framework known as the Academic Impact Model that posits that good teachers can overcome the ailments of socioeconomic disparities if they subscribe to notions of hyper-teacher-accountability. It is this false sense of reality that creates the opportunity for disillusionment and burnout among TFA's corps members.
Authors: Christopher Lubienski, Tiffany Puckett, & T. Jameson Brewer The phenomenal growth of ho... more Authors: Christopher Lubienski, Tiffany Puckett, & T. Jameson Brewer
The phenomenal growth of homeschooling in recent years demonstrates not only the appeal of this educational approach but also the notable policy acumen of the homeschooling movement's leading advocates. This analysis examines and critiques the empirical claims made by homeschooling proponents to justify further expansion and deregulation of the movement, and sheds light on the homeschool advocacy agenda explicit in those claims. Advocates often strongly suggest a causal connection between homeschooling and academic success, postsecondary attainment, and even enjoyment of life. Seemingly, these benefits are experienced all at a reduced cost per student. It is through such claims that homeschooling advocates have expanded the practice of homeschooling and have pressed for fewer state regulations and less oversight. This article outlines and challenges those claims, showing the tenuous basis for such conclusions. Instead, in an era when policymakers demand evidence of effective educational practices, we note the remarkable lack of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of this popular approach and suggest that continued efforts to claim such evidence exists indicates the desire of advocates to further advance what is largely an ideological agenda of deregulation as an end in itself.
Critical Education. 4(12)
This article provides a unique voice on the alternative certification program known as Teach for ... more This article provides a unique voice on the alternative certification program known as Teach for America’s (TFA). As a traditionally trained educator who entered TFA as a corps member, the author brings a unique auto-ethnographic perspective on TFA. Combining personal insights with data and theory, the paper addresses TFA’s recruiting practices, the application and interview processes, Institute practices and use of indoctrination, a holistic overview of TFA’s neoliberal theoretical approach to pedagogy, and TFA’s final regional placement of its corps members. As TFA continues to grow to over 10,000 corps members, critical examination is necessary as TFA becomes evermore present in our nation’s schools.
International Journal of Play. 1(3) 231-241
This article seeks to characterize Norwegian kindergarten pedagogy as specifically Rousseauian in... more This article seeks to characterize Norwegian kindergarten pedagogy as specifically Rousseauian in nature and approach. As a reflective article, my experience of pedagogical methods of play employed at an outdoor kindergarten in Norway are analyzed and compared to my experience of American schooling. Norwegian kindergartens that employ such Rousseauian practices reinforce Norway's dedication to fostering an egalitarian society beginning with the youngest learners.
Assault on Kids and Teachers: Countering privatization, deficit ideologies and standardization of U.S. schools, 2018
Although research and policy discourses analyzing and comparing the effectiveness and drawbacks o... more Although research and policy discourses analyzing and comparing the effectiveness and drawbacks of the various reforms in this chapter, whether top-down or grassroots, are far from new, the knowledge base concerning how such efforts should take place, by whom, and the degree to which they are sustainable remain underdeveloped. Hence, in light of a detailed review of the emergence and limitation of top-down reforms in education, the purpose of this chapter is to first discuss the reframing of neoliberal discriminatory policies as “Civil Rights.” We will then articulate “what instead?” ought to serve as better approaches to reform. In doing so, we identify and provide a conceptual understanding of bottom-up reforms that are emerging in the field and offer examples of community-based education reforms with the best potential to shift political capital, institutional control, and goals for teaching and learning back to communities.
(in press) In R. Ahlquist, P. C. Gorski & T. Montano (Eds.), Assault on Kids and Teachers: Counte... more (in press)
In R. Ahlquist, P. C. Gorski & T. Montano (Eds.), Assault on Kids and Teachers: Countering Privatization, Deficit Ideologies and Standardization of U.S. Schools. New York: Peter Lang.
(in press) In N. Hartlep (Ed.), The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher ... more (in press)
In N. Hartlep (Ed.), The Neoliberal Agenda and the Student Debt Crisis in U.S. Higher Education: Voices of Students and Faculty. New York, NY: Routledge.
Authors: Dan Collier, T. Jameson Brewer, P. S. Myers, & Allison Witt
(in press) In R. A. Fox & N. K. Buchanan (Eds.), School Choice: A Handbook for Researchers, Pract... more (in press)
In R. A. Fox & N. K. Buchanan (Eds.), School Choice: A Handbook for Researchers, Practitioners, Policy-Makers and Journalists. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Chris Lubienski & T. Jameson Brewer (in press) In P. Rothermel (Ed.), International Perspectiv... more Chris Lubienski & T. Jameson Brewer
(in press) In P. Rothermel (Ed.), International Perspectives on Home Education: Do We Still Need Schools? London, UK: Palgrave.
A new report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Differences by Design?, compares differe... more A new report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Differences by Design?, compares differences in approaches and demographics between and among charter school models and local " traditional public schools. " Using three national data sets, the report effectively captures the national universe of charter schools. It empirically demonstrates that cream-skimming occurs and that charters segregate by income, special education, race and ethnicity, in that different demographic groups attend different types of charter schools. Charter schools, the authors contend, provide differentiated and " innovative schooling options " through varied academic models that cater to, and ultimately reflect, parental choices for their children. The resulting de facto segregation is presented as a benign byproduct of beneficial choices differentially associated with different racial and ethnic groups. They contend this is " in line with a properly functioning charter sector. " Unfortunately, the report does not demonstrate familiarity with the research on parent decision-making or with the extensive research suggesting that charter schools are not particularly innovative in the curricular or instructional options. Despite what the report claims, traditional public schools do, in fact, offer various academic model specializations like the ones offered by the charter schools. Ultimately, the report's dismissive characterization of de facto segregation in charters, as a benign byprod-uct of parental choice, is at odds with the purpose and aims of equitable public education.
Authors: T. Jameson Brewer & David Greene
Huffington Post Authors: T. Jameson Brewer & Beth Sondel
Handbook on School Choice Research 2nd Edition, 2019
To conceptualize the politics of research on school choice, it is important to discuss the politi... more To conceptualize the politics of research on school choice, it is important to discuss the politics of market-based approaches within the broader purview of public policy. Modern notions of "markets" and "choice" in schooling stem from the libertarian ideas Milton Friedman espoused in the 1950s. Considering the underlying politics of school choice, it is important to examine the ramifications of neoliberal and collective ideology on market-based school choice research. In this chapter we point out that much of the research suggesting positive findings is continually conducted and promoted by neoliberal ideologically-driven organizations. We begin with a synthesis of the pertinent literature on the conceptions and the funding of market-based school choice research to establish a background of understanding. Next we discuss the role of the production and politics of market-based school choice research for conceptualizing the current educational policy environment. In the third section, we delved into the politics of community use of market-based school choice research. We conclude by discussing the implications of how the comingling of ideology, methods and funding informs the public discourse about market-based schools choice and fit into the larger conversation about education reform.
This study examines select demographics of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) F... more This study examines select demographics of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellows (n ¼ 644), and whether or not the cohorts of AERA Fellows are becoming more diverse in racial and gender terms in relation to the inaugural year of Fellows in 2008. This study tests the mission statement of this exclusive program to '.. . recognize excellence in research and be inclusive of the scholarship that constitutes and enriches education research as an interdisciplinary field'. Our findings suggest that homophily – a sociological phenomenon that describes the ways in which individuals and institutions prefer sameness – is a real problem in higher education, and programs such as the AERA Fellowship are not accomplishing their mission to recognize the research of faculty of color, women faculty, and faculty in interdisciplinary fields.
Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. With... more Educational reforms have become the new policy mainstay in educational discourse and policy. Without doubt, “fixing” teachers and increasing student test scores have both been a large component of much of the reform rhetoric. Moreover, calls for implementing merit pay schemes have uniquely combined reformer’s efforts to “fix” teachers while increasing test scores as teacher pay is linked directly to student academic achievement. This article traces the historical use of merit pay schemes, situates the current push for merit pay within the neoliberal education reform movement, while highlighting the overt and covert implications of injecting competition into teacher salaries. In addition to creating an environment that lends itself to narrowed pedagogical approaches and teaching to tests (and even cheating on them), this article suggests that merit pay schemes that require teachers to compete with one another likely undermines collaboration.
Founded in 1989, Teach for America (TFA) has grown into a massive organization with a presence ac... more Founded in 1989, Teach for America (TFA) has grown into a massive organization with a presence across the United States and with the broader exportation of neoliberal education reform ideologies, Teach For All (TFAll) has expanded to 46 countries across the globe. This book will coincide with the 10 th anniversary of the launch of TFAll. This book is a sequel to Teach For America Counter-Narratives: Alumni Speak Up and Speak Out, the first collection of counter-narratives from a diverse group of TFA alumni. The book pulled back the curtain on TFA's recruitment and training practices, TFA's approach to diversity, and TFA's approach to criticism and critics of the organization. In part due to counter-narratives and critiques like these, the domestic version of TFA has seen a decrease in their recruitment. However, the international version of TFAll continues to expand. There is a growing body of academic scholarship focused on the exportation of reform movements globally – including TFAll – yet, there remains a need to hear directly and in depth from those affiliated with and/or directly impacted by TFA. In an effort to continue to highlight counter-narratives, this volume will provide a collection of stories from current and former TFAll corps members. We would also consider narratives of parents of TFAll corps members and teachers/administrators whose schools partner with TFAll. In an effective marketing campaign, TFA/TFAll employs narratives from supportive corps members and organizations who follow approved talking points. To counter this TFA/TFAll controlled narrative, this volume will provide necessary counter-narratives that need to be heard. Proposals might highlight overall or specific experiences with recruitment/application into TFAll, training experiences, placement experiences, leaving TFAll, etc. and authors need not be affiliated with a university. We plan to include chapters presenting policy implications of TFAll within the global education reform landscape and we welcome such proposals. Proposals/abstracts should be between 1-2 pages clearly explaining the focus of the proposed chapter. Final chapters, if accepted, will be approximately 10-12 pages. Below is the schedule:
Proposals due by June 1, 2018
Confirmation of selected chapters by June 15, 2018
Contributors will have first drafts completed by September 1, 2018
The editors will review these first drafts, and provide detailed comments and suggestions by November 1, 2018
Final drafts will be due December 1, 2018
Final publication scheduled for Spring of 2019
Please submit proposals to Jameson Brewer at Jameson.Brewer@ung.edu using the subject line: Teach For All Chapter Proposal