Education Policy and the Political Right: The Burning Fuse beneath Schooling in the US, UK and Australia

Description

This work attempts a comparative description and analysis, focusing on the US, the UK, and Australia on the topic of the Right, educational policy, and schooling. It adopts as its underlying theme the burning fuse in tracing the topic back to Joseph de Maistre a Rightist who fled revolutionary France to seek safety in the company of Tsar Alexander I’s Russian Empire. Here, he had much to say about school education, not for all, but rather the “deserving” social elite. During the past three or four decades in the US, the UK, and Australia, the Right has been remarkably successful in amassing political power. And in doing so, the right of politics in these countries has reshaped school educational policy and practice, a necessary step in securing the future of the Right as a political force. Moreover, even during the years the Right has been on the opposition benches in these countries, such has been the strength of their political force that governments of the Left have acquiesced to much of their school educational policy. A pioneering effort, this book asserts that to understand school educational policy in the third decade of the 21st century, we need to comprehend the politics of the Right. This book will be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students interested in Education Studies, Theory and Policy, and International and Comparative Education. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Acronyms and abbreviations Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Introduction Saluting Michael Apple Our chapters: a view from the Right References Chapter 1: Defining and describing the Right Introduction What is the Right? Joseph de Maistre’s burning fuse The Right and the 2019 European Parliamentary elections: an aberration? The US: conservatism, republicanism, Trumpism, and Trumpeteers Right-wing politics in the UK (2020): get Brexit done Right-wing politics in Australia (2020): knuckle draggers and cave dwellers? Internationalizing the Right: the future… belongs to the… brave Right-wing think tanks/political lobbyists in the US: providing the resources for RMT Right-wing think tanks/political lobbyists in the UK: free market and classical liberal ideas Right-wing think tanks/political lobbyists in Australia: hope springs eternal An overview of the Right and school education policy: colour our political lens, our “moral accounting schemes” The Right and the reality and myth of One Nation: One Nation values have never been more important Explaining the rise of the Right: moral panic theory and risk-society theory The Right and RMT: explain[ing] the levels of mobilization and the trends… occurring in an affluent American society Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 2: The Right, the rise of the influence of neoliberalism, and globalization in school education policy Introduction Neoliberalism unmasked: a rather ambiguous term Globalization unmasked: a little Foxification What attracts the Right to neoliberalism and globalization? the “politics of the left-behinds” Neoliberalizing educational “reform” Neoliberalism, climate change, schools, and education policy: schools and irrational outrage Globalization and school education as an export commodity: $100,000 on the hoof for Australia Neoliberalism and globalism: a second Renaissance? some very dark clouds Globalization and national educational standards: Common Core State Standards: Get rid of Common Core—keep education local! Neoliberalism, the Right, universities, and teacher education: Toughen up on teacher training, uni heads warned Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 3: The Right, government school fiscal austerity, and school education policy Introduction The Great Recession, the coronavirus pandemic, austerity, children and school education: consequences Risk society: the Right, climate change, and school education policy: causing “needless anxiety” among young people around the world The Right and the politics of national educational assessment: TBA and ideas as… resources for the Right Risk society: the Right, public school fiscal austerity, and school education policy The “bloated” and bureaucratic state The UK’s triumph: school education, the politics of austerity, and the destruction of “the blob” Austerity in the classroom: It ’s all about how much political capital… Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 4: The Right and the privatization of school education Introduction Moral panics and risk-society imperatives: “school halls” equals “waste” The triumph of private school education: the last decades represent a remarkable shift towards privatization Public sector school education fights back: Issues with the marketization and privatization imperatives Issues of choice: the vexed question of sexuality education and opposition from the Right Christian schools in the US: introducing Bible Literacy classes… Great! Continuing issues with school educational vouchers : respecting an establishment of religion Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 5: The rise of the Christian Right and its role in school education Introduction A star shining bright: the Christian Right in the sky over Sydney— Choose Life The Christian Right in US politics : evangelical perspective influenced many political decisions The Christian Right in UK politics: family values and religious freedom The Christian Right in Australian politics: play the Christian lobbies in an artful and cynical way Searching for Christ: the ability of the Christian Right to organize— the “pro-family” movement’s umbrella Lobbying for the Lord and home-schooling: a search for a theory— grievances and ideology as determinants of participation in social movements A select history of the Christian Right in US school education: Scopes, Scott, and the Kansas incident Fortress Christian Right in US politics and schools: Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority The Hillsong phenomenon : a return to faith and values which made our country strong The rise of Christian private schools: he doesn’t want “the values of others” imposed on his children Schooling from the Christian Right: home-schooling— experts are confident that home-schooling numbers have surged in the past decade Schooling from the Christian Right: vouchers and charter schools—come in Betsy! Vouchers and the teaching creationism on the public purse: Adam and Eve strolled the garden with dinosaurs Schooling from the Christian Right: Vouchers and faith-based schools— teach[ing] anti-LGBTIQ curriculum and have anti-LGBTIQ admission policies Accommodationism: a position attractive to the Christian Right Anti-vaxxers and school education: Jesus is my vaccine Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 6: The Right and the media shaping school education policy Introduction Damn the social media: The Right still winning the message war. Be bold, clear, and swift The Right heads up moral panics and dog-whistles: throw in some dead-catting News Corporation weighs in: has long linked arms with the Right in waging opposition against school education in a political strategy The Right, the media supporting school educational policy and practice: In this Foxified world… The Right and the deep mediatization of school educational policy: We are living in an era not just of mediatization, but deep mediatization Towards some comparative conclusions References Chapter 7: The Right and religious freedom in schools Introduction A view of the Christian Right about “that label” The Right, the Christian Right, and the right to religious freedom in schools: those godforsaken public schools The Right, Christianity, and Islam in schools and colleges: Trojan horse—a story with legs In pursuit of Judeo-Christian values and knowledge in the curriculum: a dog-whistle myth peddled by the far right Towards some comparative conclusions References Conclusions: Bringing it all together References Index