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作者

来源

URBAN EDUCATION,Vol.52,Issue3,P.343-369

语言

英文

关键字

non-cognitive traits; educational reform; urban education; narrative analysis; figured worlds; case study; high school equivalency; EDUCATION; CULTURE; POVERTY; SCHOOL; RACE

作者单位

[Golden, Noah Asher] Chapman Univ, Integrated Educ Studies, Orange, CA USA. Golden, NA (reprint author), Chapman Univ, Coll Educ Studies, One Univ Dr, Orange, CA 92866 USA. E-Mail: ngolden@chapman.edu

摘要

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement's fascination with grit," the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah's narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our broader society. This obfuscation present in the grit discourse and pedagogy aims to diminish the critical bifocality that is needed to understand and improve educational opportunity and outcomes.