Framing Democratic Proceduralism in Education Reform: No Child Left Behind and Common Core State Standards

Abstract

This paper aims to frame democratic proceduralism in education policy. This is shown by giving a background of research on how a robust civil society is contingent on an inclusive citizenship and further why the public sphere must be in balance with the state and market. The democratic process of deliberation is presented as a representational, inclusive, and non-coercive democratic process. The process of deliberation is then used to investigate the uptake of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS). It is shown that neither policy initiative followed a deliberative process, and the implications that this might hold for future reform is discussed.