| Abstrakt: |
In the aftermath of the Capitol Insurrection, many states sought to bolster civic education through efforts such as the South Dakota Civics and History Initiative (SDCHI). This study examined the SDCHI through a Critical Policy Analysis and Critical Race Theory lens to understand how the initiative and related rhetoric reflected, protected, and perpetuated Whiteness as property. To answer this question, we conducted an inductive content analysis of 40 policy documents. Our analysis generated a microhistory and two thematic findings that underscored the contradictions in policy rhetoric, rationales, and implementation to reveal how the SDCHI perpetuated White supremacy by reinforcing a single-narrative master script of American history and identity. Collectively the findings pointed to the ways that Whiteness as property functioned to thwart efforts toward socially just and culturally responsive education. By critically examining these policy mechanisms, this study seeks to inform the responses of educators and policymakers committed to emancipatory, democratic, and socially just approaches to civic education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
