The Imprint of Business Norms on American Education By Dameon V ...

their operations. I deliberately conflate all formal entities into one term: business.

What I mean by education is a comprehensive system of learning framed within the social institutions of both schools and universities. Although the central premise is the school, the academe is also considered. Hence, the use of the word education is also a conflation of terms, recognizing the bridge between schools and universities. Where necessary, I distinguish between the two.

The primary concern in this book is students’ conceptualizations of knowledge. Although knowledge acquisition and the value of knowledge are explored, the broader abstraction I investigate isknowledge (re)production: How is it controlled? If it is controlled, by whom? How is this control accomplished? Why would one want to control knowledge (re)production? Where would signs of control emerge? And, what are the ultimate effects of controlling knowledge (re)production on institutions and individuals?

I like the way economist Thomas Sowell (1980) defined knowledge production as “the process by which ideas are filtered and transformed into recognized knowledge, having the force to guide decisions” (p. 3). My leading inquiry is how and why industry norms penetrate educational processes, leading to their control over the knowledge (re)production processes, which potentially affects decision-making processes in schools.

I contend that education reform in the United States is undergoing a systemic change from being supported by the state (under regional governance, separate from federal control) to being guided by corporate entities. More precisely, there is a shift in management and pedagogic paradigms in educational institutions as a result of the simultaneous enticing and subduing aspects of market principles. I am arguing that business entities are taking control of conventional educational processes through business arrangements with schools. By doing this, their presence (their symbolic economic power) places them in a position to influence decisions regarding managerial practices and curricula design. This augments their ability to create new modes of knowledge: They are becoming knowledge producers. This takeover is perceived by some scholars to be a refreshing