The Deprofessionalization of Educators: An Intersectional Analysis of Neoliberalism and Education “Reform”

Abstract

Throughout this article, we discuss the neoliberal assault on public education, specifically in the United States, which, through coercive means, is anti-feminist, racist, and classist and demonstrates a deliberate attack on the female-dominated teaching profession. By contextualizing and analyzing education policies through a framework of intersectional critical feminism, we demonstrate how educators are delegitimized and deprofessionalized through privatization, education “reform,” and policies that reduce the profession to one that is both technicist and rote, all under the guise of “equity” and “social justice.” Our analysis reinforces the need to better understand the intricacies that permeate such policies so that the necessity to resist becomes inherently part of teaching, education, and political activism both in the United States and internationally.