Education Policy and the Obama Administration

Abstract

In the previous chapters I examined the economic underpinnings of US education policy. Against a historic background of neoliberal social policies, I have argued that recent debates about US education are framed by economic theories focused on the pursuit of human capital formation across a changing economic landscape. In the chapter that follows, I examine public documents introduced by the Obama administration and offer a critical analysis of these documents. These documents include:

• (1) A Strategy for American Innovation: Securing Our Economic Growth and Prosperity, National Economic Council, Council of Economic Advisers, and Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2011

• (2) A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, US Department of Education, 2010a

• (3) Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, National Education Technology Plan, US Department of Education, 2010c