The corporatization of education: Education management organizations (EMOs) and public schools

The purpose of this study is to analyze some specific educational discourse-practices used by Education Management Organizations (EMOs) that operate public schools for profit. Private companies see public education as an area in which to expand, particularly through operating charter schools. In this study I analyze texts from the web pages of some of the leading corporations, federal reports, state charter laws and policies, and academic research on charter schools and EMOs. My methodology is based on Critical Discourse Analysis and semiotic methods from the fields of Linguistics and Communication. The discourse analysis and its triangulation with other data reveals a disparity between what EMOs say they do and what they actually do. EMOs' ideological rhetoric builds an ideal model of education that is not supported by evidence, and veils the for-profit character of the companies.