The Education-Industrial Complex: A Consideration of Power, Educational Institution and the Political Disengagement of Urban Secondary Students

The K-12 system of education is a complex organization that has historically denied students of low socio-economic status the opportunity for political engagement through the exercise of power (Apple, 1993; Ben-Porath, 2013; Boggs, 2000; Crayton, 2014; Ethiraj & Levinthal, 2009; Fazzaro, 2006; Gordon, 1980; Horowitz, 1969; Karabel, 1977; Lukes, 2005; Shipps, 2008; Wedel, 2009). This statement is in response to a series of questions presented by members of my Academic Advisory Committee, respectively, as a Qualifying Exam for doctoral candidacy in Urban Education Studies. This article is a response to the series of questions that will address the concern of the opening statement including: Professor Peter Seybold’s Questions of Power in the K-12 Education System; Professor Brendan Maxcy’s request on the state of political youth engagement in Urban Secondary Schools; and Professor Jim Scheurich’s request for focus on PAR (Participatory Action Research) and YPAR (Youth Participatory Action Research) in the education system as they relate to the political engagement of Urban Secondary Students.