Assigning Blame: The Rhetoric of Education Reform

Mark Hlavacik is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Texas in Denton. He specializes in rhetoric and public deliberation and his research focuses on contemporary and historical controversies over education policy in the United States. In addition to Assigning Blame, Dr. Hlavacik has published work about the emergence of teachers union rhetoric, the opt-out movement, presidential rhetoric, and civic engagement on college campuses and in college debate. His work has appeared in Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Communication Education, Education Policy Analysis Archives, and Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies. Alongside his work on the rhetoric of blame, Dr. Hlavacik is pursuing research concerning the rhetoric of education policy in the executive branch and the relationship between public education and propaganda analysis. Dr. Hlavacik earned his master's and doctoral degrees in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in history with an endorsement in secondary education from Western Illinois University, where he was trained in a traditional teacher education program. He completed his student teaching in the Chicago Public Schools at Benito Juarez High School while coaching high school debate at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy.