(2022). 'He Wasn't Nice to Our Country': Children's Discourses about the 'Glocalized' Nature of Political Events in the Global North. Global Studies of Childhood, v12 n2 p147-158 Jun. The accessibility of new media combined with emerging patterns of migration are challenging current definitions of community as we see a shift from close-knit face-to-face interactions to more diverse 'glocalized' networks that defines community as a social rather than a spatial dimension. These changes mean that social connections, and fundamentally a person's sense of belonging, have moved beyond a local neighbourhood to depend upon global networks. This was the case for the children in the current longitudinal ethnographic study that followed one class in a diverse primary school in the north of England every 2 years from their Reception year to Year 6. This article draws upon data collected while the children were in Year 6, aged 10 to 11. It uncovers the range of linguistic and semiotic resources that the children used to communicate with their school peers about two recent political events in the Global North, namely, the United Kingdom's European Union (EU) Referendum in 2016… [Direct]
(2019). Children's Media as a Conduit for "Unbiased" News: Critical Reflections on the Coverage of Trump's Presidential Campaign. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, v20 n4 p350-362 Dec. On 8 November 2016, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. During his campaign, Trump put on display long held sexist, racist, and bigoted views on women; people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer, intersex peoples, and Others. Media coverage in the U.S. and around the world was not limited to news cycles intended for adult audiences only. "Scholastic News Kids Press Corps," a free online publication for and 'by kids' ages 10 to 14, joined the conversation in 2015. This article shares analysis of "Scholastic News Kids Press Corps"' coverage of Trump's campaign, theorized through a critical, women of color feminist lens. Major themes that emerged include teaching children how to be unbiased reporters; the importance of being part of the political process and voting; social and policy issues; and Trump's disposition/sexism. While news content broached issues from varying perspectives, it often stopped short of… [Direct]
(2019). Engaging Election Contention: Understanding Why Presidents Engage with Contentious Issues. Higher Education Quarterly, v73 n2 p198-217 Apr. In recent years, technology has made it possible, and in some ways critical, for college and university presidents to increase campus-wide communication. Following the 2016 US presidential election, many college presidents across the country sent campus-wide communications in response to the election, while others chose not to respond. The resulting reactions from campus and community stakeholders to these communications, or the lack of communication, from presidents was mixed due to the contentious nature of the election. In an effort to better understand a president's decision to communicate, this study utilised coded interviews with 12 US flagship institution presidents or vice-presidents for communication, providing insight into why presidents generally respond to contentious events and, more specifically, why presidents chose to respond to the 2016 election of Donald Trump. Four motivations that generally influenced presidential communications were identified (i.e.,… [Direct]
(2019). From Protest to Protection: Navigating Politics with Immigrant Students in Uncertain Times. Harvard Educational Review, v89 n2 p251-276 Sum. With the rise of nationalism and the current contentious debate on immigration in the US, school leaders and educators are faced with difficult questions about how to negotiate sensitive political topics, including debates on immigration. In this article, Reva Jaffe-Walter, Chandler Patton Miranda, and Stacey J. Lee explore how educators grapple with the political policies and discourses surrounding immigration with marginalized students who are the subject of those politics. Drawing on research from two US schools exclusively serving recently arrived immigrant students, the authors explore how educators negotiate the teaching of immigration politics during two different time periods, in 2013 during the Obama era "Dreamer" movement and in early 2017 after the inauguration of Donald Trump. They consider how the unique conditions of each political context inform educators' strategies for "teaching into" political events and supporting their immigrant and… [Direct]
(2019). The Ethical Knower: Rethinking Our Pedagogy in the Age of Trump. Adult Education Quarterly: A Journal of Research and Theory, v69 n2 p142-156 May. This article seeks to begin a conversation about pedagogical responses to the current moment. Specifically, I argue that two of adult learning's most venerated practices–transformative learning and the use of personal narrative–are insufficiently nuanced to respond effectively to the political divisions and the epistemological chaos represented by the election of Donald Trump. I ask the adult learning community, first, to revisit the role of culture in our systems for making meaning and deepen our understanding of the relationship between personal identity, community membership, and attitudinal change. I then suggest that our focus on attitudinal change encourages us overlook aspects of our students' lives out of which a more bracing pedagogy might emerge. I make a case for distinguishing between the "hermeneutic" self-awareness cultivated in transformative learning and attention to "epistemological" ethics as a response to "fake news" and… [Direct]
(2018). "Get the Mexican": Attending to the Moral Work of Teaching in Fraught Times. Schools: Studies in Education, v15 n1 p98-121 Spr. This article details a four-faceted approach we developed to help structure discourse about topics in partisan arenas, many of which intersect with issues of equity and social justice. The article's narrative centers on challenging and emotionally charged discussions that unfolded in a classroom management class in our teacher preparation program on November 9, 2016, the day following the election of Donald Trump. We offer the approach, which centers on addressing cognitive biases common in partisan discourse, as a robust, straightforward, and nontechnocratic way to help teachers (both teacher preparation instructors and teachers of children) mediate partisan discussions among their students and to help them situate their personal beliefs within a professional context. When practiced well, the approach invites discussants to engage fully and authentically with ideas even when discourse threatens to become fractious and can help students who may disagree actually hear one another,… [Direct]
(2018). Accelerated Christian Education: A Case Study of the Use of Race in Voucher-Funded Private Christian Schools. Journal of Curriculum Studies, v50 n3 p333-351. President Donald Trump has promised an expansion of voucher programs for private schools in the United States. Private Christian schools are likely beneficiaries of such an expansion, but little research has been conducted about the curricula they use or their suitability for public funds. This article describes and critiques the depiction of race in Accelerated Christian Education, a curriculum used in some voucher-funded schools in the United States, as well as in private schools in 140 countries. It employs content analysis and qualitative documentary analysis of the curriculum workbooks, and builds on Christian Smith and Michael Emerson's theoretical framework of white evangelicals' 'cultural toolkit' to explain the ideas about race in the curriculum. The paper finds that in addition to some overt racism, the system promulgates a worldview which does not have the capacity to recognize or oppose systemic injustice. It is argued that such a curriculum is not a suitable recipient of… [Direct]
(2018). The Rationale and Strategies for Undermining Xenophobia in the Classroom. Social Studies, v109 n3 p151-166. In the last few years, xenophobic rhetoric and policies have sharply increased across the world and is especially apparent in the rise of far right political parties in Europe, the Brexit vote in Great Britain, and the election of Donald Trump in the United States. In these times, teachers have a responsibility to stand for values of inclusion and justice and be a voice of reason among the growing angst and fear-based policy decisions. This article explores the theoretical rationale for taking this position in the classroom in relation to the purpose of education, promoting the good of all students, and creating a classroom environment based on critical thinking and a strong analysis of current cultural and political trends. The article then looks at practical ways teachers can deconstruct this xenophobia in the classroom through instructional practices, creating a welcoming classroom environment, and curricular choices. Although these concepts are applicable in all subject areas,… [Direct]
(2017). "Build That Wall!": Manufacturing the Enemy, yet Again. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v30 n10 p999-1005. The 2016 presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump has amplified divisive anti-immigrant sentiment and has further positioned "Mexicans as enemy." Trump's "Build That Wall!" declarative has stoked nativist ire through manufactured narratives that rarely, if ever, consider the United States government's role in the increase of undocumented immigrants residing in our country. In this essay, the author connects the current administration's anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican proposals to historical legislation that, cloaked under the guise of "national security" or a return to "American values," has aimed to maintain White hegemony. Additionally, the author examines anti-Mexican narratives that aim to criminalize Mexican immigrants' behaviors to justify imperialistic and unjust policies that further serve dominant-White political elites and their constituents…. [Direct]
(2018). Privatising Educational Leadership through Technology in the Trumpian Era. Journal of Educational Administration and History, v50 n1 p23-31. This article focuses on the changes that the election of Donald Trump enables in education policy domestically and in education discourse internationally. I argue that Trump's own charismatic leadership style is a distraction from the privatisation that it is facilitating through Betsy DeVos, Trump's appointment as US Education Secretary. I draw on two contemporary examples of technology-enabled privatisation in education–cyber charters and predictive analytics using big data–to argue that in the Trumpian era, educational leadership may be shifting from corporatised forms, where professionals understood as "school leaders" fulfil corporate objectives through corporatised means. Instead, Trumpian-era privatised educational leadership retreats fully behind the technology boardroom door, where it renders superfluous lead professionals in education institutions, and where its objectives are to generate profit through re-conceptualising learners as data providers. This… [Direct]
(2021). Why Civic Education Is Key to Protecting Democracy. New England Journal of Higher Education, Feb. According to Douglas Challenger, American democracy just survived a near-death experience during the slow-motion coup that was the four years of Donald Trump's presidency. It culminated in his rejecting his electoral loss and pressuring officials and political allies to back his claims that the election was fraudulent and, at the end, inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol in an effort to stay in power. During his time as president, he attacked the press, undermined truth with lies and conspiracy theories, and flouted countless institutional norms such as the peaceful transition of power and the rule of law that American democracy has depended on to function. There are several important causes to the rise of Trump and his base including persistent personal and institutional racism, Christian nationalism, deindustrialization, rising economic inequality, and the inability of governing elites (of either party) during the neoliberal decades since Reagan to adequately address these… [Direct]
(2017). Forging Ahead. Community College Journal, v87 n5 p34-38 Apr-May. Community colleges always have played an integral role in training workers for infrastructure- and transportation-related fields like truck driving, construction, welding and electrical work. If the $1 trillion infrastructure package proposed by President Donald Trump comes to pass, these fields will grow significantly, at least for a while, which could affect community colleges and their programming. But two-year schools say they will be motoring ahead in any case. A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that Trump's infrastructure proposal could create 11 million jobs but casts some doubt on how many of them would lead to sustainable employment. But for whatever period the jobs do last, the authors foresee a key role for community colleges in getting workers up to speed for that endeavor. This article describes the Trump plan and the infrastructure-related programming that is already in place…. [Direct]
(2023). The Role of Partisan Politics on Support for Public Institutions of Higher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Arkansas. Over several decades, a greater share of the expense of earning a college degree has shifted to students and their families as appropriations to public institutions of higher education have declined as a percentage of the overall cost to educate a student. Tuition has greatly outpaced inflation during this period, while inflation-adjusted household income has remained relatively flat. Despite all the benefits that accrue to both the college graduate and society as a whole, for the less affluent, a college education is becoming increasingly difficult to attain. Many decide the financial barriers are simply too great and elect not to pursue a degree. Political partisanship influences spending on higher education at the state level; Republican lawmakers, in general, are less generous toward higher education than are Democrats. This study attempted to understand whether similar correlations exist between political preferences and support for higher education among adults who may… [Direct]
(2022). The 2016 Presidential Election of Donald Trump and its Impact on the College-Going Experience for Then-Undergraduate LGBTQ+ Students. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Seton Hall University. On November 8, 2016, businessman and mogul Donald J. Trump won the U.S. presidential election, sending shockwaves across the country given that polls indicated that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would win the election. On U.S. college campuses, students reacted to the election win, and for LGBTQ+ undergraduate students, their marginalized identity was negatively impacted by Trump's win because of his rhetoric towards this population. Colleges and universities responded to the 2016 election results by sending out communications to affirm their mission and values for all their constituents, but this response was perceived as not supporting LGBTQ+ undergraduate students. This phenomenological, qualitative study investigated the retrospective experiences of LGBTQ+ undergraduate students on the night of the 2016 election and how they perceived university support before, during, and after the event. Using minority stress, a theory developed in 1995 by Ilan Meyer as the… [Direct]
(2017). We Are Not Alternative Facts: Feeling, Existing, and Resisting in the Era of Trump. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v30 n10 p936-945. In this article the authors argue that Donald Trump is not simply a presidential figure, but the embodiment of white supremacy, capitalism, racism, neoliberalism, patriarchy, xenophobia, Islamaphobia, homophobia, and more. It is our belief that historically marginalized communities are in a state of constant terror as we try to make sense of how to navigate, live, and merely exist in a world where our livelihood is constantly under threat. In this article, we aim to showcase some of the ways in which people in our communities are coping and making sense of Trump's presidency and his spiteful rhetoric. The authors include personal reflections, and weave in art, poems, and Facebook statuses of Students of Color who are also responding to the current administration. By meshing many perspectives, we seek to understand glimpses of the totality and impact of this president in our daily lives…. [Direct]