ERIC Number: EJ1393982
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Oct
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-161X
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3519
Schools as Solutions, Students as Problems: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Institutional Scripts in High School Websites
Allbright, Taylor N.; Dhaliwal, Tasminda K.; Alonso, Jacob; Bridgeforth, James; Santander, Monica; Kennedy, Kate E.
Educational Administration Quarterly, v59 n4 p845-878 Oct 2023
Purpose: In this study, we used critical discourse analysis to examine what school websites convey about the expected roles of educators and students. Research Design: We analyzed 13 high school websites from a mid-sized urban district that has implemented several market-based reforms and has a centralized school choice model. We employed the concept of scripts from institutional theory to analyze what messages these websites communicate about the roles of different educational actors, how these messages relate to existing societal power dynamics, and how they relate to the school model or school demographics. Findings: For students and educators, the sites expressed that students had an important problem, while the school and educators were offered as the solution. This common framework manifested in four distinct patterns, which we describe as the savior, cultivation, assimilation, and marketplace scripts. Implications: By critically examining school websites and other semiotic materials, leaders and other stakeholders can work to "root out" potentially harmful assumptions and narratives and envision alternatives that offer empowerment and transformation.
Descriptors: Discourse Analysis, Student Role, Teacher Role, Expectation, High Schools, Web Sites, Power Structure, School Demography, Models, Marketing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A