ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides an overview of critical policy analysis as an alternative to traditional approaches that present policymaking as a rational, objective, and scientific process. It explores the impact of neoliberalism and “disruptive innovation” on education policy through its focus on markets, privatization, and the politics of choice and competition. The book focuses on how the expansion of charters and vouchers, and dismantling the government’s role in education limits the democratic possibilities of schooling and its subsequent impact on students, educators, and American education as a public good. It considers the increased role of private venture philanthropy in the education policymaking process. The book also explores the sociological concept of social reproduction and the possibilities associated with leveraging the cultural production of minoritized and marginalized groups in ways that advance a new social movement that supports and invests in high-quality public schools.
