Annotated Bibliography entry

Ginsberg, R. and Lyche, L. F. (2008). The culture of fear and the politics of education. Educational Policy, 22(1), 10-27.

Research on crises, whether real or created, displays their impact on framing the policy agenda, and critical events research shows that they, rather than actual performance, dramatically affect the evaluation of institutions such as public education. (Ginsberg and Lyche, 2008, p.14).

Ginsberg and Lyche’s work examines the public’s concerns regarding public education and how the culture of fear has permeated the media’s representation of teachers, tests, schools, and math/science. They also not the rise of conservative thinking tanks as being used as a viable source of information, even as the news papers themselves fail to acknowledge the political ideologies of their sources. Thus, the problems and solutions are presented in very specific terms that reflect the perspective of those surveyed. They note

“Television and radio commentators, think tanks and foundations, presidential candidates, and other politicians decry the failure of our schools and spew a variety of remedies. Although their claims and antidotes mostly lack theoretical support or credible research, widespread agreement on this matter is simply assumed or passed over” (Ginsberg and Lyche, 2008, p. 11).

Ginsberg and Lyche’s study of the media and the culture of fear surrounding public education is particularly useful in the development of the current research project because it illustrates how the media aids in the support of particular points of view, even in the absence of significant research support. The article also lends support to using the NYT online as a data source, and it will help me to frame the conversation about negativity in the press.

Other interesting quotes:

The political reality is clear: Education is high on the public agenda and is not insulated from the public’s view or the politician’s glare” (Ginsberg and Lyche, 2008, p. 12).

And,

There is no single defining event, but rather a constant promotion of a culture of fear regarding the failure of education at both pre-K-12 and higher education levels, involving speculative conclusions drawn about the sorry state of affairs in education and their scary potential outcomes, which seemingly has become the dominant means for projecting issues on to the educational policy agenda. Whether these conclusions are accurate is almost irrelevant. Getting particular beliefs established and alternative policy ideas promoted through fear are the main objectives. (Ginsberg and Lyche, 2008, p.14).