Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Standards-Based Reform: Applying Brantlinger's Critique Of Hierarchical Ideologies, Jessica Bacon, Beth Ferri

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

Brantlinger's [2004b. "Ideologies Discerned, Values Determined: Getting past the Hierarchies of Special Education." In Ideology and the Politics of (in)Exclusion, edited by L. Ware, 11-31. New York: Peter Lang Publishing] critique of hierarchical ideologies lays bare the logics embedded in standards-based reform. Drawing on Brantlinger's insightful analysis, we trace how hierarchical ideologies impacted inclusive practice at one urban elementary school, deemed failing under the No Child Left Behind Act. Drawing on the qualitative analysis of data from interviews, public forums, and documents, we chart some of the negative effects of hierarchical ideologies on inclusive practice. We illustrate, for instance, how …