Resistance to Indiana’s Neoliberal Education Policies: How Glenda Ritz Won
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The election of Glenda Ritz as Superintendent of Public Instruction of Indiana not only symbolized a reversal in K12 education reform, but also demonstrated how teachers, unions, and communities worked together to express their resistance to the neoliberal policies of then Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Tony Bennett. Under the administration of Bennett, Indiana had become a ‘trailblazer’ in the nation for an aggressive reform strategy that advanced school choice, an increased number of charter schools, punitive teacher evaluations, and the adoption of the divisive Common Core State Standards. This case study examines and documents the complex features of this election including how teachers and unions collaborated with their communities to demonstrate resistance to Bennett’s policies through various grassroots efforts. Data was collected from from primary sources and government documents. Additionally, the authors conducted interviews with Ritz and teacher union leaders, examined posts in social media, and studied archival reports from mainstream media.
Article Details
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.