’Process’ and Educational Analysis

Abstract

The intention of this paper is to investigate the use of the term ‘process’ in educational analysis. Drawing on a model proposed by Apple & Weis (1985) for conceptualising ideological reproduction in education, the paper argues that ‘process’ is in greater need of clarification than the terms to which it refers. The claim is that ‘process’ has become a taken‐for‐granted but untheorised term in writing about ideology in particular and has become what Ardener (1978) calls, a ‘language shadow’. By this he means a metaphoric circumlocution that ambiguously sketches ideas that are beyond the capacity of real language to express. To this extent, ‘process’ masks rather than explicates the very mechanisms that are said to set in motion terms such as ideology. Consequently, it is argued that the process model of Apple & Weis requires additional elements for the theoretical explanation of ideological reproduction and for establishing a fit between the model and the world it depicts. Finally, the paper attempts to extend Apple & Weis's analysis by proposing a closer focus on the discursive practices of schools so that their complexity is accounted for in theoretical models.