Semiotics as an Orientation to Administrative Practice

Abstract

This article focuses on the concept of ideology and its utility in the understanding of educational practice. Ideology is viewed as a belief, which, while representative of a particular reality, disguises a deeper reality. The relationship between appearances and a more basic reality can profitably be understood from the orientation afforded by semiotics -the study of symbols and signs. Through semiotics, language is viewed as a fundamentally symbolic process, thereby permitting an understanding of language "in use " through an analysis of the structure as well as the context of language. Using data from a field study of three schools, the article describes ideology as socially constructed and based in part on policymakers' connections to a larger social context. Semiotics permits a more complete understanding of the interaction between language and educational practice and helps guide research to this nexus.

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