Resisting “radical indoctrination”: a critical discourse analysis of “America 250 Civics”

Purpose The purpose of this article is to deconstruct the public-facing announcement videos of the America 250 Civics Education coalition to illuminate the claims and ideologies which undergird it. Design/methodology/approach Study methodology: We analyzed the videos using critical discourse analysis, an approach to analyzing speech acts like text and videos to make visible their message, their context and how they shape social practice and power (Fairclough, 2003). We coded for intertextuality, rhetoric and discourse related to ideology. Findings In analyzing these codes, we noted three claims that were reinforced: history education as a moral generational calling, schools as indoctrinators of anti-American ideology and patriotic civics education as the antidote to indoctrination. We argue in response that students should be seen as active agents of learning, not a generation to be “fixed”, history education classrooms as sites of critical thinking and that democratic education is the antidote to patriotic education. Originality/value Our work is a tool for educators, school leaders, parents and policymakers to understand the fundamental differences between democratic education and patriotic education so that they may respond to these messages with language rooted in the ideals of democratic education.