Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781612509723)

Vendor: Mark Hlavacik
Product type: Books
Format: Paperback
$32.00
$32.00
$32.00
Subtotal: $32.00
WR Book House

Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform

$32.00

Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform

$32.00
Format: Paperback
Description
Description
x
Despite a plethora of opinions on how to improve US education, a remarkable consensus has emerged that someone or something is to blame for the failures of the public school system, argues rhetoric scholar Mark Hlavacik in this new and insightful book examining the role of language and persuasion in the rise of the accountability movement.

Analyzing five of the most prominent acts of public persuasion since the founding of the US Department of Education in 1979--Milton Friedman's appeal for vouchers on national television; the National Commission on Excellence in Education's seminal A Nation at Risk report; Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities; the No Child Left Behind Act; and also its repudiation by Diane Ravitch--Hlavacik concludes that "blame has come to the fore as a chief means by which Americans dispute the future of their public schools."

Hlavacik explores the implications of using blame to achieve policy goals, sounding a cautionary note for reformers and educators alike: while blame can be an effective, even positive tool for change, overuse can breed cynicism and undermine faith in the very institution that advocates seek to change. Hlavacik urges policy makers, scholars, educators, and the public to reconsider its favorite rhetorical tactic for pursuing education reform and offers alternatives to the overreliance on blame.



Author: Mark Hlavacik
ISBN-10: 161250972X
ISBN-13: 9781612509723
Publisher: Harvard Education PR
Language: English
Published: 09/27/2016
Pages: 216
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.40d
By Mark Hlavacik
By Mark Hlavacik
x
Mark Hlavacik is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Texas in Denton. He specializes in rhetoric and public deliberation and his research focuses on contemporary and historical controversies over education policy in the United States.

In addition to Assigning Blame, Dr. Hlavacik has published work about the emergence of teachers union rhetoric, the opt-out movement, presidential rhetoric, and civic engagement on college campuses and in college debate. His work has appeared in Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Communication Education, Education Policy Analysis Archives, and Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies. Alongside his work on the rhetoric of blame, Dr. Hlavacik is pursuing research concerning the rhetoric of education policy in the executive branch and the relationship between public education and propaganda analysis.

Dr. Hlavacik earned his master's and doctoral degrees in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in history with an endorsement in secondary education from Western Illinois University, where he was trained in a traditional teacher education program. He completed his student teaching in the Chicago Public Schools at Benito Juarez High School while coaching high school debate at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy.

Recently Viewed Products