Covering Número 85: a content analysis and critical race theory perspective

• Date: 20 October 2023
• Pages: 442-458
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2022-0311
• Published date: 20 October 2023
• Author: Patricia Virella

Covering N

umero 85: a content

analysis and critical race

theory perspective

Patricia Virella

College of Education and Human Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair,

New Jersey, USA

Abstract

Purpose –Narratives about racism and equity in schools have been documented in varying degrees of detail

and accuracy in the news media (Farhi, 2012). Thus, race is front and center in the news reports, demonstrating

how educationpolicies are detrimental to the Island while also contending that policy drivers of Ley de Reforma

Educativa de Puerto Rico (LREPR) are ignoring the racialized consequences of these neoliberal policies.

Design/methodology/approach –To examine the implementation of LREPR in education discourse in the

media, a content analysis on texts in the Puerto Rican media was conducted. To conduct the analysis, an

original dataset of texts from the four major newspapers in Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Dia, El Vocero, Primera Hora

and The San Juan Daily Star (n5119) was created.

Findings –The study shows how the collective resistance of Puerto Ricans towards LREPR suggests

racialized consequences for this “post”-colonial Island as they engage in dialogues about property rights and

dispute policy discourse. Data suggests the alarming effects of neoliberalism as perceived by Puerto Rican

citizens, while highlighting shared concerns aligned with elements of critical race theory such as colorblindness

and property rights.

Research limitations/implications–This study breaks ground by identifying a new intellectual pursuit of

charter schools purchasing land or buildings in marginalized communities. It argues that the news coverage

demonstrates how Puerto Rican citizens have illuminated the purchase of land for charter schools, viewing it as

an act of colonialism veiled as market competition and economic improvement for the Island.Implications for

policy and practice are discussed.

Originality/value –The findings from this research contribute to how critical race theory is used and

conceptualized in the educational leadership field. Additionally, the study contributes to the field of research by

conducting a content analysis of newspaper articles in Puerto Rico, looking throughthe CRT lens to illuminate

systemic racism that is present in media accounts of education.

Keywords Content analysis, Critical race theory, Education reform

Paper type Research paper

America has exported racism to the foreign territories that have come under its control, including the

Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Hispaniola (Bell, 2004, p. 683, p. 683).

Narratives about racism and equity in schools have been documented in varying degrees of

detail and accuracy in the news media (Farhi, 2012). Media organizations are in the business

of producing news guided by market competition, profit margins and the whims of powerful

owners (McChesney, 2004). As a result, the public is continually exposed to content shaped by

these businesses (Anderson, 2007). Moreover, Hall (1997) posited that newspapers are not

neutral entities and, instead, hold power over people’s discourse. Research examining

education policy has found that the media can direct the public to take up specific stances

guided by political parties that support the news outlet (e.g., Cohen, 2010;Iyengar, 1991),

resulting in biased news coverage (Hall, 1997).

News coveragehas highlighted how Puerto Ricansrefused to believe claims that thepolicy

is effective in Puerto Rico because it lacks the historical and colonial context of the Island

(Author UnderReview). Thus, race is front and centerin the news reports, demonstrating how

educationpolicies are detrimentalto the Island while also contendingthat policy driversof Ley

de Reforma Educativa de Puerto Rico (LREPR) are ignoring the racialized consequences of

EDI

43,3

442

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 9 November 2022

Revised 18 July 2023

Accepted 12 September 2023

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 3, 2024

pp. 442-458

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-11-2022-0311

these neoliberalpolicies. Althoughall news outlets are Republican-leaning and PuertoRico is a

Republican stronghold, this news coveragecounters the popular rhetoric in the conservative

media that neoliberal policiesimprove outcomes for marginalized communities(Author Under

Review). I show how the collective resistance of Puerto Ricans towards LREPR suggests

racialized consequences for this “post”- colonial Island as they engage in dialogues about

property rights and dispute policy discourse.

Godreau (2015) explained that Puerto Rico has a long and complex history of racism,

dating back to Spanish colonization. This period developed notions of racial hierarchy,

elevating individuals who had fairer skin. This racial hierarchy played a significant role in

housing zones and how negros libros, or Free Blacks, were described (lazy, dirty) (Godreau,

2015). Godreau further explained the racist barriers enacted in Ponce in the 1940s and 1950s

preventing a Black child from getting into a local public school. Bonilla (1961) challenged the

assumption that racial thinking is not prevalent in Puerto Rico, explaining that the US

occupation also relied on racial hierarchies and socioeconomic designations. Therefore, the

history of Puerto Rico is important when considering a critical race theory analysis because

Puerto Rico, by proxy, has been engaged in racial thinking and class hierarchies since the

Spanish occupation.

Race and class are always interconnected (Andersen and Hill Collins, 2004). Hall (1980)

explained that “race is the modality in which class is lived”(p. 340). Omi and Winant (2014)

used the term racialization to specify “the extension of racial meaning to a previously racially

unclassified relationship, social practice or group”(p. 64). These authors emphasized that

“racialization is an ideological process, a historically specific one”(pp. 61–62). Thus, when

elements of CRT are discussed, the racialization of Puerto Ricans must be discussed. Godreau

(2015) explains that there is a racial ambiguity assigned to Puerto Rico; thus, more research

must be conducted that illuminates the “slippery semantics”(p. 5) of race on the Island.

Otherwise, without this consideration, analyzing a geopolitically complex space such as

Puerto Rico would not reveal the complete picture.

I conducteda content analysisof news articles from El Nuevo Dia,El Vocero,Primera Hora

and The San Juan Daily Star to answerthe following research question: “How are elements of

colorblindnessand property rights defined by critical race theory (CRT) showing up in news

coverage from El Nuevo Dia,El Vocero,Primera Hora,andThe San Juan Daily Star?”

My analysis revealed elements of CRT present in these newspaper articles related to the

implementation of LREPR, the property being sold for charter school development and the

collective resistance to the neoliberal education policy. I argue that the news coverage

demonstrates how Puerto Rican citizens have illuminated the purchase of land for charter

schools, viewing it as an act of colonialism veiled as market competition and economic

improvement for the Island.

I do not disentangle these two concepts in my analysis; instead, I show how they work

together to further oppress and neoliberalize Puerto Ricans through education reforms.

Finally, because of the racial formation of the United States (Omi and Winant, 2014), all

territories of the United States are formed under the same guise. Concepts of colorblindness,

neoliberalism and property rights discussed in critical race theory apply to all territories

governed by the US In the case of Puerto Rico, this means Puerto Ricans are subject to the

same racist ills, regardless of skin complexion, because of the idea that they are “othered”due

to their citizenship by association (Godreau, 2015).

Background of Ley de Reforma Educativa de Puerto Rico

LREPR, legislatedin March of 2018, has severalinitiatives that target improvements in Puerto

Rico’s educational system, such as accountability measures for principals, mentors for

principalsand a decentralizededucation government.The most controversialaspect of LREPR

Covering

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