No Child Left Behind and Cooptation with a Disadvantaged Front: Exploring the Relationship between National Education Reform Policy, Intergovernmental Agendas, and Deception Strategy

Abstract

Reformers in general and education reformers specifically are currently unable to identify whether or not deception is part of a policy. Further, they are unable to identify whom the deception benefits, and whom it places at a disadvantage. Using No Child Left Behind as an example of a policy of reform that claims to be for the benefit of the disadvantaged, this work seeks to identify whether or not it is actually an example of cooptation with a disadvantaged front. Borrowing from and synthesizing key themes in strategy, deception, cooptation and poverty pimping theories, this work seeks to combine classical, critical and community observations to theoretically define and conceptually frame cooptation with a disadvantaged front. Using qualitative content analysis, No Child Left Behind is examined for evidence of deception, cooptation and cooptation with a disadvantaged front. Confirming the presence of all three, the intergovernmental network was scanned for evidence that cooptation was occurring. Policy documents from the United Nations and the World Bank were examined for the timely congruence of main agenda items carried in the No Child Left Behind Act. Congruence was found in documents from both organizations, suggesting that the cooptive agenda was generated at the intergovernmental level.