Portrait of a Teach for All (TFA) teacher: Media narratives of the universal TFA teacher in 12 countries

Authors

  • Michelle Gautreaux University of British Columbia
  • Sandra Delgado University of British Columbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2149

Keywords:

Teach for All, teacher education, media analysis, global corporate education reform, narrative inquiry, character analysis

Abstract

This article employs narrative analysis to examine how the media in 12 different countries characterize the Teach for All (TFA) teacher.  Examining mass media narratives in these 12 countries illustrates that there are some remarkable commonalities in the narratives and character portraits co-constructed and propagated by the media. At the core of these narratives is the notion of a problem in education. This problem justifies the creation and emergence of a character, commonly constructed in opposition to traditionally certified teachers, who embodies the characteristics and attributes of the contemporary neoliberal subject. This article discusses the implications of this character’s widespread representation; namely, how does the character construction influence the broader public perception about education and how is it contributing to the (re)imagination of the role of the teacher?

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Author Biographies

Michelle Gautreaux, University of British Columbia

Michelle Gautreaux is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include social movements, critical pedagogy, and the politics of global corporate education reform. Her primary research explores collective resistance to corporate education reform in Chicago, IL. Her work has been published in Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor and Critical Education.

Sandra Delgado, University of British Columbia

Sandra Delgado is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. Her interests include social movements, critical pedagogy, curriculum studies, academic capitalism and academic freedom. Her articles have been published in Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor and Revista Íber: Didáctica de las Ciencias Sociales, Geografía e Historia.

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Published

2016-10-24

How to Cite

Gautreaux, M., & Delgado, S. (2016). Portrait of a Teach for All (TFA) teacher: Media narratives of the universal TFA teacher in 12 countries. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24, 110. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2149

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Section

Articles