The Sounds of Silence in Educational Tracking: A Longitudinal, Ethnographic Case Study

Foregrounding the nexuses of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and ethnography, specifically in longitudinal research, I draw on case study data that span the course of 10 years to explore the issues salient to understanding the problem of educational tracking. I focus on the struggle of Vicky Treader, an African-American young woman living in Albany, NY, to obtain a high school diploma while labeled as a special education student. Analytically, I construct the context of Vicky's experiences within the educational system through the discursive details of official and unofficial records and transcripts and against the backdrop of neoliberal education policies that reinforce educational and social inequalities. I traverse 10 years of institutionalized discourses and decision-making through three episodes (1998, 1999, 2005) that represent her experiences within the special education in elementary, middle and high school. Educational tracking, I will argue, relies not only on official records and narratives but also on what Huckin [(2002). Textual silence and the discourse of homelessness. Discourse & Society, 13(3), 347–372] refers to as ‘textual silences’. I demonstrate how using critical discourse analysis within longitudinal ethnography enabled me to connect micro and macro discourses and to understand the long-term consequences of educational decisions and what these might mean for educational equity.