A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Let Our Kids be Kids Protest

The aims of this research were to explore the relationship between parents and the Government within primary education and to critically analyse neoliberal modes and technologies of governmentality within the testing regime. This paper focused on the Let Our Kids Be Kids (LOKBK) campaign, which was an online protest by parents. The protest aimed to force the Government to stop the new SATs due to be taken by primary school children in the summer of 2016. The research considered, via a critical discourse analysis approach, the potential tension between the Government and the LOKBK protest. The analysis focused on how the parents positioned themselves as either complying with, or rejecting, Government educational policy.

The research findings concentrated on four themes: the paradox of parent power; discourse of success; educational experience; and the emotional effects of testing. Whilst the campaign sought to challenge the Government’s testing regime, the neoliberal rhetoric that the purpose of education is for future employment was maintained by both sides, with the protesters adopting the same neoliberal discourse to justify an opposing position. Ultimately, for parents to challenge the Government within education, the neoliberal discourse that supports the current education policies needs to be recognised and addressed.