School District Responses to Cultural and Linguistic Change: Competing Discourses of Equity, Competition, and Community

ABSTRACT

Framed by theories and methods from critical discourse analysis and social semiotics, this comparative case study of six Missouri school systems asked: How do school districts represent and address their changing communities? Discourses of equity, language, identity, and demographic change were examined across school system websites, mission statements, and policies. Analyses showed that all cases except for one White rural district highlighted the value of diversity through their mission statements, homepage photos, and hyperlinks to policies and resources for changing communities. However, four districts also presented deficit perspectives about racially, culturally, and linguistically minoritized students and highlighted neoliberal educational reform values of marketable competitiveness and accountability. Only one highlighted social equity and inclusivity. Deeper analyses focused on three cases demonstrate how competing discourses reflect ideological debates in education, which can shape community engagement and perceptions of students.

KEYWORDS:

• Community
• critical discourse analysis
• demographic change
• diversity
• equity
• multimodal analysis
• school district websites

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.