Impacts of Neoliberal Discourse and Language in Education: Critical Perspectives on a Rhetoric of Equality, Well-Being, and Justice

This edited collection combines quantitative content and critical discourse analysis to reveal a shift in the rhetoric used as part of the neoliberal agenda in education. It illustrates how concepts such as justice, opportunity, well-being, talent, and disadvantage have been hijacked by educational institutes, governments, and universities. By tracing issues such as anti-intellectualism, commercialization, meritocracy, and an erasure of racial difference back to a contradictory growth in egalitarian rhetoric, the volume offers a timely intervention in the studies of neoliberalism and education.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This edited collection combines quantitative content and critical discourse analysis to reveal a significant shift in the rhetoric employed as part of the neoliberal agenda in education. By meticulously analyzing, uncovering, and commenting on language as a fundamental tool of education, the text demonstrates how concepts such as justice, opportunity, well-being, talent, and disadvantage have been co-opted by educational institutions, governments, and universities. Through a detailed examination of vocabulary, metaphors, and slogans used in strategy documents, advertising, policy, and public discourse, the text illustrates how neoliberalism has altered discourses about education and educational policy. By tracing issues such as anti-intellectualism, commercialization, meritocracy, and the erasure of racial difference back to a contradictory growth in egalitarian rhetoric, these chapters shed light on how neoliberalism has transformed the way we think about education.

Given its broad international reach, this volume serves as a timely intervention in the studies of neoliberalism and education by providing a comprehensive perspective on how the language of neoliberalism has reshaped our understanding of education. It will be an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers engaged in the intersections of education, policymaking, and neoliberalism.

Weight: 492g
Dimension: 235 x 195 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367415471