CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS (CDA) IN EDUCATION POLICY RESEARCH: A METHOD FOR SOCIALLY ENGAGED SCHOLARS Dr Katarina Popović & Dr Maja Maksimović Why CDA in adult education policy research? -Changed context (socio-economic, political...) -Changed paradigms (ideology, principles...) -Power-based outcome ↓ -New educational paradigms and concepts -Hidden relationship between context, text and practices in education Rational for CDA in developing countries -The nature of policy transfer -The impact of policy and ideology on adult education -Use of education for paradigm shift and changes in other fields -Lack of critical approach -Discrepancy between aims and outcomes CDA can... -Reveal the nature of education policy texts -Find out about the type and direction of policy transfer -Reveal the ideological background of educational practices -Tell about the power relationship on several levels of policy -Inform critical eductaional policy creation -... Question(s) of how... ◦ No mainstream definition about CDA or clear procedures about how it should be applied - there are many types of CDA, and these may be theoretically and analytically quite diverse. ◦ Debate: is it a method or is it just socially engaged approach to research? ◦ CDA explores how texts construct representations of the world, social relationships and social identities, how such practices and texts are ideologically shaped by relations of power. ◦ Critical in CDA is a rejection of naturalism and neutrality and the assumption that the identification of power relation will disrupt regimes. ◦ Linguistic turn – focus on language and power Question(s) of how ◦ Policy making is seen as an arena of struggle over meaning ◦ Exploring the relationship between policy texts and their historical, political, social and cultural contexts ◦ Both control and content of policy are significant; both the structural mechanisms and the discourse ◦ Intertextuality of the text: Whose voices are present? Who is absent? In the context of adult education: ◦ Implicit beliefs on the nature of learning ◦ What is seen as a purpose of AE? ◦ What are dominant concepts? ◦ What “facts” are fabricated? So what is the point of this kind of research? ◦ Evidence based policy – emphasis on quantitative data ◦ Financing research projects – paradigms that fit into the mainstream discourses on education ◦ Discourse analysis as a form of policy activism ◦ The aim is to understand, expose, and ultimately resist social inequality ◦ New role of researchers – activists and devils advocates – exposing the blind spots ◦ Insider activists – formulating the policy texts and making discursive interventions Not easy, this CDA, isn’t it...?
