The moral imperatives of geographies of school failure: Mobilizing market‐based reform coalitions

Abstract

School reform efforts in the United States often declare the entire institution irreparably unresponsive to student needs and in need of a fundamental overhaul. Consequently, coalitions that incorporate business and philanthropic actors have advocated strongly for the introduction of market logics into the public system. I argue that these movements are facilitated by creating a sense of obligation that is mapped onto the space of the urban or metropolitan area. I draw on archival research and open‐ended interviews to demonstrate the degree to which this moral obligation dominates reform efforts in the Seattle area through two coalitions: the first, made up of local business, philanthropic, and citizen groups that advocate for introducing market logics of choice and accountability, and the second, made up of parents who advocate for a network of alternative schools that meet the needs of students not served by the public system. Based on these differences, I argue that the former coalition's greater influence is in part due to its ability to mobilize an image of urgency around school reform that is geographically specific even as it glosses over differences in the spaces of education quality within the larger Seattle area.