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Papers by Thomas Pedroni

Teachers College Record, 2021

In this introduction to the special issue, the editors explain why the work of Jean Anyon is an i... more In this introduction to the special issue, the editors explain why the work of Jean Anyon is an important jumping-off point for examining the inter-imbrication of political economy and race, and what analytical gains might be made through such scholarship. A synthesized approach to theory can help us identify and bring into generative interplay these two phenomena. Furthermore, this interrelationship has important implications for policy analysis, as racial discourses become employed in and animate revanchist economic and education reforms.

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

Background/Context: Research has documented educational neoliberalization as a disrupter of “fail... more Background/Context: Research has documented educational neoliberalization as a disrupter of “failing” urban schools and a driver of the remaking of urban space for development interests, through the dislocation of low-income communities of color. Such research draws upon Jean Anyon’s work on cities, schools, race, and inequality, yet undertheorizes the nexus of race and political economy by positing their interplay as straightforward and unvariegated. Purpose/Objective: This article documents differential racialization in neoliberal education reform across two urban contexts—Milwaukee and Detroit—and therewith seeks to build theory aligned with Jean Anyon’s final wish to complicate her work in urban educational political economy with more rich accounts of the intersection of race and political economy. Research Design: This comparative study utilizes discourse analysis of key educational policy documents and ethnographic work with educational policy actors in both contexts. Findings...

The Death of the Comprehensive High School?, 2007

Discourse: Studies in The Cultural Politics of Education, 2011

Although Detroit is not a centre of global finance, and plays a declining role in global producti... more Although Detroit is not a centre of global finance, and plays a declining role in global production, it nevertheless participates in the present remediation of the relationship between cities and the globe. Manoeuvring to reposition the city as the global hub of mobility technology, metropolitan Detroit's neoliberal leadership advances particular development strategies in urban education, housing, infrastructure, and governance, all with implications for social exclusion. This paper analyzes Detroit's neoliberal policy complex, uncovering how rituals of place-making and suburbanite nostalgia for the city intersect with broader struggles over the region's resources and representation.

Discourse: Studies in The Cultural Politics of Education, 2011

Considerando que o importante debate, na educação e outras áreas afins, entre pós-estruturalistas... more Considerando que o importante debate, na educação e outras áreas afins, entre pós-estruturalistas e outros teóricos críticos a respeito de assuntos tais como agência, identidade, natureza do poder e do estado e significados e possibilidades das políticas emancipatórias, este ensaio pretende avaliar os termos desse debate, demonstrando que a conversa entre essas diferentes linhas de pensamento, embora algumas vezes caracterizada pela polêmica e pelo desentendimento, tem sido indubitavelmente produtiva. Levando isso em conta, este artigo traz ao primeiro plano um conjunto de temas amplos que são explorados em direção à conceitualização da possibilidade de que ferramentas analíticas pós-estruturais e críticas possam ser colocadas conjuntamente, de modo que, enfim, possam servir de forma radical a propósitos sociais e à educação democrática. Palavras-chave: teoria crítica, neo-marxismo, pós-estruturalismo.

In this essay I renovate critical educational theorist Michael Apple's arguments concerning conse... more In this essay I renovate critical educational theorist Michael Apple's arguments concerning conservative modernization, making them more resonant with processes of identity formation and subaltern agency evident in research with working class and poor Black voucher families in the United States. Based on conceptual and empirical findings, I theorize pro-voucher Black politicians, community leaders, and poor and working class families as representative of a subaltern 'third force' in conservative formation. Their tactical investments in fleeting conservative alliances and subject positions, I argue, are likely to play an increasingly significant role in educational and social reform both in the United States and elsewhere. To the degree that such subalternly negotiated alliances are a harbinger of a direction that conservative modernization might increasingly take, this renovation should assist critical educators-along with other critical cultural workers and social actors-in better understanding and contesting post-welfarism in education and beyond.

Este artigo renova alguns argumentos do estudioso em teoria crítica da educação, Michael Apple, a... more Este artigo renova alguns argumentos do estudioso em teoria crítica da educação, Michael Apple, a respeito da modernização conservadora, a fim de que reflitam melhor os processos de formação de identidade e agência subalterna que se evidenciam na pesquisa sobre as famílias negras de classe trabalhadora e pobres apoiadoras de programas de vouchers (vale-educação) nos Estados Unidos. Baseado em evidências conceituais e práticas, teoriza os políticos e líderes comunitários negros e famílias negras pobres e da classe trabalhadora pró-voucher como sendo representativos de uma 'terceira força' subalterna na formação conservadora. Esses investimentos táticos em alianças e posições conservadoras passageiras virão provavelmente a desempenhar um papel cada vez mais importante em reformas educacionais e sociais tanto nos Estados Unidos quanto em outros países. Da perspectiva de que tais alianças subalternamente negociadas são um prenúncio da direção que a modernização conservadora poderá tomar cada vez mais, essa renovação poderá auxiliar educadores críticos -juntamente com outros trabalhadores e atores culturais críticos -a entender melhor e a constestar o pós-welfarismo (pós-Estado do Bem Estar Social) na área da educação e em áreas afins. Palavras-chave: teoria crítica em educação, reformas educacionais, raça e educação, estado e educação.

Teachers College Record, 2005

The Urban Review, 2005

Critical educational researchers in the United States and elsewhere are missing something essenti... more Critical educational researchers in the United States and elsewhere are missing something essential in their inattention to considerable support among Black urban women for market-based educational reforms, including vouchers. While the educational left has engaged in important empirical and theoretical work demonstrating the particularly negative impact of educational marketization on the disenfranchised, not enough attention has been paid to the crucial role the educationally dispossessed have actually played in building these otherwise conservative reforms. Engaging with Michael Apple’s arguments concerning processes of identity formation within conservative movement-making, we can begin to conceptualize the importance of subaltern groups in market-based educational reforms. Yet ethnographic work conducted with Black voucher mothers, school officials, and community leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shows that this subaltern process of conservative formation does not always occur in the manner theorized by Apple and his colleague Anita Oliver, in which ideologically relatively unformed parents and families are “pushed” to the Right by an intransigent state. Although the conceptual tools they provide are the foundation of our ability to imagine a more compelling theorization of dynamics and social actors in Milwaukee, significant conceptual—not to mention empirical—work remains to be done. In this essay I renovate Apple and Oliver’s arguments concerning conservative modernization in order to make them more resonant with the processes of race, gender, subaltern identity formation and agency evident in my ethnographic field research with low-income African-American women choosing vouchers for their families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aided by critical, feminist, and post-structural theorists both within and outside educational disciplines I assess the utility and limitations of Apple and Oliver’s framework in explaining the mobilization around ‘parental choice’ and vouchers in Milwaukee. Based on my conceptual and empirical findings, I retheorize pro-voucher African-American politicians, community leaders, and poor and working class women (and their families) as representative of a subaltern ‘third force’ in conservative formation. Their tactical investments in fleeting conservative alliances and subject positions, I argue, are likely to play an increasingly significant role in educational and social reform both in the United States and elsewhere.

Books by Thomas Pedroni

Although their thoughts have enriched my work, responsibility for any shortcomings in this volume... more Although their thoughts have enriched my work, responsibility for any shortcomings in this volume rests solely with me. I also want to express my deep appreciation for my community of work at Oakland University. I have truly been taken aback by the vitality, collegiality, flexibility, friendliness, and support that permeate the School of Education and Human Services and the Department of Teacher Development and Educational Studies. I happened to learn about Oakland at just the right time in my career; Oakland is positioned to accomplish many great things in the years to come. I am also deeply indebted to the schools and families who took the time to share their educational perspectives and visions. eir willingness to talk with me made this book possible. Finally I would be remiss not to thank Michael Apple a second time. Michael has provided me with a truly inspirational example of what it means to be a deeply ethically and politically committed scholar, researcher, and teacher; and a friend.

Detroit Data and Democracy Project by Thomas Pedroni

Teachers College Record, 2021

In this introduction to the special issue, the editors explain why the work of Jean Anyon is an i... more In this introduction to the special issue, the editors explain why the work of Jean Anyon is an important jumping-off point for examining the inter-imbrication of political economy and race, and what analytical gains might be made through such scholarship. A synthesized approach to theory can help us identify and bring into generative interplay these two phenomena. Furthermore, this interrelationship has important implications for policy analysis, as racial discourses become employed in and animate revanchist economic and education reforms.

Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education

Background/Context: Research has documented educational neoliberalization as a disrupter of “fail... more Background/Context: Research has documented educational neoliberalization as a disrupter of “failing” urban schools and a driver of the remaking of urban space for development interests, through the dislocation of low-income communities of color. Such research draws upon Jean Anyon’s work on cities, schools, race, and inequality, yet undertheorizes the nexus of race and political economy by positing their interplay as straightforward and unvariegated. Purpose/Objective: This article documents differential racialization in neoliberal education reform across two urban contexts—Milwaukee and Detroit—and therewith seeks to build theory aligned with Jean Anyon’s final wish to complicate her work in urban educational political economy with more rich accounts of the intersection of race and political economy. Research Design: This comparative study utilizes discourse analysis of key educational policy documents and ethnographic work with educational policy actors in both contexts. Findings...

The Death of the Comprehensive High School?, 2007

Discourse: Studies in The Cultural Politics of Education, 2011

Although Detroit is not a centre of global finance, and plays a declining role in global producti... more Although Detroit is not a centre of global finance, and plays a declining role in global production, it nevertheless participates in the present remediation of the relationship between cities and the globe. Manoeuvring to reposition the city as the global hub of mobility technology, metropolitan Detroit's neoliberal leadership advances particular development strategies in urban education, housing, infrastructure, and governance, all with implications for social exclusion. This paper analyzes Detroit's neoliberal policy complex, uncovering how rituals of place-making and suburbanite nostalgia for the city intersect with broader struggles over the region's resources and representation.

Discourse: Studies in The Cultural Politics of Education, 2011

Considerando que o importante debate, na educação e outras áreas afins, entre pós-estruturalistas... more Considerando que o importante debate, na educação e outras áreas afins, entre pós-estruturalistas e outros teóricos críticos a respeito de assuntos tais como agência, identidade, natureza do poder e do estado e significados e possibilidades das políticas emancipatórias, este ensaio pretende avaliar os termos desse debate, demonstrando que a conversa entre essas diferentes linhas de pensamento, embora algumas vezes caracterizada pela polêmica e pelo desentendimento, tem sido indubitavelmente produtiva. Levando isso em conta, este artigo traz ao primeiro plano um conjunto de temas amplos que são explorados em direção à conceitualização da possibilidade de que ferramentas analíticas pós-estruturais e críticas possam ser colocadas conjuntamente, de modo que, enfim, possam servir de forma radical a propósitos sociais e à educação democrática. Palavras-chave: teoria crítica, neo-marxismo, pós-estruturalismo.

In this essay I renovate critical educational theorist Michael Apple's arguments concerning conse... more In this essay I renovate critical educational theorist Michael Apple's arguments concerning conservative modernization, making them more resonant with processes of identity formation and subaltern agency evident in research with working class and poor Black voucher families in the United States. Based on conceptual and empirical findings, I theorize pro-voucher Black politicians, community leaders, and poor and working class families as representative of a subaltern 'third force' in conservative formation. Their tactical investments in fleeting conservative alliances and subject positions, I argue, are likely to play an increasingly significant role in educational and social reform both in the United States and elsewhere. To the degree that such subalternly negotiated alliances are a harbinger of a direction that conservative modernization might increasingly take, this renovation should assist critical educators-along with other critical cultural workers and social actors-in better understanding and contesting post-welfarism in education and beyond.

Este artigo renova alguns argumentos do estudioso em teoria crítica da educação, Michael Apple, a... more Este artigo renova alguns argumentos do estudioso em teoria crítica da educação, Michael Apple, a respeito da modernização conservadora, a fim de que reflitam melhor os processos de formação de identidade e agência subalterna que se evidenciam na pesquisa sobre as famílias negras de classe trabalhadora e pobres apoiadoras de programas de vouchers (vale-educação) nos Estados Unidos. Baseado em evidências conceituais e práticas, teoriza os políticos e líderes comunitários negros e famílias negras pobres e da classe trabalhadora pró-voucher como sendo representativos de uma 'terceira força' subalterna na formação conservadora. Esses investimentos táticos em alianças e posições conservadoras passageiras virão provavelmente a desempenhar um papel cada vez mais importante em reformas educacionais e sociais tanto nos Estados Unidos quanto em outros países. Da perspectiva de que tais alianças subalternamente negociadas são um prenúncio da direção que a modernização conservadora poderá tomar cada vez mais, essa renovação poderá auxiliar educadores críticos -juntamente com outros trabalhadores e atores culturais críticos -a entender melhor e a constestar o pós-welfarismo (pós-Estado do Bem Estar Social) na área da educação e em áreas afins. Palavras-chave: teoria crítica em educação, reformas educacionais, raça e educação, estado e educação.

Teachers College Record, 2005

The Urban Review, 2005

Critical educational researchers in the United States and elsewhere are missing something essenti... more Critical educational researchers in the United States and elsewhere are missing something essential in their inattention to considerable support among Black urban women for market-based educational reforms, including vouchers. While the educational left has engaged in important empirical and theoretical work demonstrating the particularly negative impact of educational marketization on the disenfranchised, not enough attention has been paid to the crucial role the educationally dispossessed have actually played in building these otherwise conservative reforms. Engaging with Michael Apple’s arguments concerning processes of identity formation within conservative movement-making, we can begin to conceptualize the importance of subaltern groups in market-based educational reforms. Yet ethnographic work conducted with Black voucher mothers, school officials, and community leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shows that this subaltern process of conservative formation does not always occur in the manner theorized by Apple and his colleague Anita Oliver, in which ideologically relatively unformed parents and families are “pushed” to the Right by an intransigent state. Although the conceptual tools they provide are the foundation of our ability to imagine a more compelling theorization of dynamics and social actors in Milwaukee, significant conceptual—not to mention empirical—work remains to be done. In this essay I renovate Apple and Oliver’s arguments concerning conservative modernization in order to make them more resonant with the processes of race, gender, subaltern identity formation and agency evident in my ethnographic field research with low-income African-American women choosing vouchers for their families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aided by critical, feminist, and post-structural theorists both within and outside educational disciplines I assess the utility and limitations of Apple and Oliver’s framework in explaining the mobilization around ‘parental choice’ and vouchers in Milwaukee. Based on my conceptual and empirical findings, I retheorize pro-voucher African-American politicians, community leaders, and poor and working class women (and their families) as representative of a subaltern ‘third force’ in conservative formation. Their tactical investments in fleeting conservative alliances and subject positions, I argue, are likely to play an increasingly significant role in educational and social reform both in the United States and elsewhere.

Although their thoughts have enriched my work, responsibility for any shortcomings in this volume... more Although their thoughts have enriched my work, responsibility for any shortcomings in this volume rests solely with me. I also want to express my deep appreciation for my community of work at Oakland University. I have truly been taken aback by the vitality, collegiality, flexibility, friendliness, and support that permeate the School of Education and Human Services and the Department of Teacher Development and Educational Studies. I happened to learn about Oakland at just the right time in my career; Oakland is positioned to accomplish many great things in the years to come. I am also deeply indebted to the schools and families who took the time to share their educational perspectives and visions. eir willingness to talk with me made this book possible. Finally I would be remiss not to thank Michael Apple a second time. Michael has provided me with a truly inspirational example of what it means to be a deeply ethically and politically committed scholar, researcher, and teacher; and a friend.