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Vol. 10 No. 1 (2025): Special Issue Re-thinking Social Inclusion from the Perspective of Sustainability

Competing Futures: Reconfiguring Sustainability in US Education Policy from Equity to Meritocracy

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/riss2025oa19846
Submitted
27 marzo 2025
Published
05-06-2025

Abstract

This study examines how inclusion is discursively constructed in sustainability-oriented educational policies through a linguistic analysis of six Executive Orders issued by former President Biden during his 2021-2025 administration, and by Donald Trump during the first month of his current presidency, January 2025. Drawing upon a critical discourse perspective and employing the tools provided by Systemic Functional Linguistics, we explore representations of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in order to assess how vulnerability, participation, and exclusion are linguistically framed in the field of education. The findings will contribute to understanding how institutional discourse shapes inclusive education and sustainability, informing strategies for future equitable learning environments.

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