Education policy and frame conflict: student assignment in the wake county public school system in North Carolina

This research explores frame conflict in the context of education policy. It centers on the public discourse surrounding the retraction of a student assignment policy aimed at socio-economic diversity in the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina, USA. It argues that the controversy and community division resulting from this retraction represent a case of frame conflict. The community has been split into two distinct interpretive communities, each developing and using respective frames as they interact with the policy issue. These frames rest on fundamental ideas, values, and beliefs regarding history, fairness, race, class, diversity, and individualism. Through interpretive policy analysis and value-critical policy analysis methods this research explores the conflict between the two frames while keeping an eye on possible next steps moving forward. -- Relevance to Development Studies -- Development Studies is thankfully moving beyond the ideas of the “developed” world and the “developing” or worse “undeveloped” world. This research is written with the belief that no human society should ever be declared a finished product and that, if we are to continue to use the Development Discourse, it would be most apt to apply to all societies, the label of “developing.” Along these lines, this research in Development Studies examines a local government policy in a particular developing country, the United States of America. It engages with public and policy discourse, aiming to uncover the roots of conflict, but also shedding light on possibilities towards reconciliation.