Critical Discourse Analysis: Language, ideology, and power

In this chapter, we describe critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a set of critical approaches focused on the relations between language and society. CDA explores how the sociopolitical dominance of powerful actors and institutions is presented, replicated, legitimized, and contested by text and talk. First, we discuss why and how discourse is used to construct versions of human reality in educational research, practice, and policy, and how this is linked to social power relations. Second, we outline the main principles of CDA and elaborate on the methodology of Norman Fairclough, one of the most noted CDA scholars. Third, we present examples of policy texts in education and how they can be analysed using CDA. We conclude this chapter with reflections on the promise of CDA for future research of policy analysis in education.