Contested Spaces of a “Failing” Elementary School

Abstract

Amid the recent proliferation of teacher-led movements resisting high-stakes testing across the United States, the authors identify how a “failing” elementary school reclaimed local discourse by taking political action against top-down measures. Framed as competing modes of school reform, the authors offer the sociocultural framework of “contested spaces” to build understanding of top-down and bottom-up school reform efforts. The data are organized in three descriptive scenarios: (1) the principal of Dewey Elementary created spaces to reclaim public education as local, (2) teachers created a Facebook group called “Democracy in Action” with a corresponding call and write-in campaign to protest current political measures, and (3) parents pulled their students from taking standardized tests to an extent that merited national news coverage. Drawn from the results of interactive qualitative analysis performed with the participants, the authors examine the contextual supports in which all participants were capable, if not privileged, to act. Conclusions show how school reform might succeed from the bottom up via grassroots contestation in a top-down reform era. The article sets a wider goal of reimagining how schools, school leadership training, teacher education, and pedagogy might reclaim the idea of education as a democratic, public, and intellectual activity to redefine the educational landscape.

Keywords:

• school reform
• elementary schools
• contested spaces
• political and/or civic engagement
• parents
• teachers and leadership

Notes

1. ¹All research location and participant names are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roi Kawai

ROI KAWAI is a Doctoral Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction/Language, Culture, and Society at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Stephanie Serriere

STEPHANIE SERRIERE is an Associate Professor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction/Language, Culture, and Society at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Dana Mitra

DANA MITRA is an Associate Professor of Education in the Educational Theory and Policy program at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. She can be contacted at [email protected].