Political Science and Education Policy Research: An Overdue Reckoning With Race and Democracy

Abstract

This chapter summarizes five decades of American political science education research. The chapter shows that most of the political science research fits into three major strands as identified by Marion Orr: (a) distribution of power, (b) organization of education governance, and (c) outcomes and effects of education policy decisions. The chapter also shows how important aspects of education politics—race, citizenship, and democracy—have been marginalized in American political science education research, with profound consequences for our understanding of the role of education in the expansion of inequality and undermining of democracy. The chapter argues for the centering of race politics in education research and for the development of a research agenda that forges a fourth strand of research, focused on advancing theoretical and empirical strategies that interrogate the purpose and intent of education to better understand how education politics and policy shape citizenship and democracy in America.

Keywords: politics; education; policy; democracy; political science