Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change
eBook - PDF

Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change

The Dynamics of School District Consolidation in Shelby County, Tennessee

  1. 289 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change

The Dynamics of School District Consolidation in Shelby County, Tennessee

About this book

The 2010 national midterm elections produced Republican majorities in Tennessee for the first time since Reconstruction. In the wake of that election, leaders of the Shelby County Schools (SCS) school district began legislative maneuvering to advance a long-cherished goal: granting their schools “special school district” status—a move that would permanently sever the relationship between the SCS and the other school district in the county, Memphis City Schools (MCS). Leaders of MCS realized this action would deprive it of funding from a significant part of the county’s tax base. So they made a stunning move of their own: they renounced the MCS charter. Ironically, under Tennessee law this action required SCS to take over the running of Memphis’s schools; SCS would actually be forced to merge with MCS. Thus began the largest school district consolidation in the history of the United States. 

Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change progresses through nine chapters that examine the MCS/SCS merger from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Historical, sociological, political, legal, institutional, urban planning, media studies, and educational analyses of the consolidation render John M. Amis and Paul M. Wright’s volume a valuable tool for researchers, students, policy-makers and educators alike. The investigations in this work reveal deeply entrenched inequalities that have thwarted education, particularly for poor minority students, throughout the region’s history. This text presents insight into factors that have shaped not just the school system in Shelby County, but similar systems across the United States. A model for other urban areas that face similar challenges, this volume will serve as a significant resource for those seeking to understand the trajectory of large-scale educational transformations.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Race, Economics, and the Politics of Educational Change by John M. Amis,Paul M. Wright in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Education & Educational Policy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Introduction. The Antecedents and Mechanisms of School District Consolidation, John M. Amis and Paul M. Wright
  4. Chapter 1. Educating the “Common Man”: Developing Public School Systems in Memphis and Shelby County, 1820 to 1954, Beverly Bond
  5. Chapter 2. Two Attempts, One Fate: The Legislative Basis of School District Consolidation, Daniel Kiel
  6. Chapter 3. Memphis and Durable Inequality, Wanda Rushing
  7. Chapter 4. Race, Politics, and Consolidation Efforts, Marcus D. Pohlmann
  8. Chapter 5. How the News Media Shaped the Consolidation Debate, David Arant and Jin Yang
  9. Chapter 6. Urban-Suburban Disparity and Geographic Stratification: A Context for Fiscal Conflict, Charles A. Santo
  10. Chapter 7. Institutional Logics, Power, and School District Consolidation, Rachida Aïssaoui and John M. Amis
  11. Chapter 8. Quality and Equity in Education, Paul M. Wright and Jenn M. Jacobs
  12. Chapter 9. The Largest School District Consolidation in US History: A Cautionary Tale, Paul Wright and John M. Amis
  13. Contributors
  14. Index