Developmental education and equity work, both of which are foundational to the work of basic writing, are under attack. In this article, we present a critical discourse analysis of paradigmatic texts representing the unique perspectives of four organizations that have sought to articulate a relationship between developmental education, equity, and…

"Remedial Trap." "Bridge to Nowhere." "Completion Divide." Such language used to describe the field of Developmental Education (DE), especially by those outside the field, is undeniably deficit oriented. In this manuscript, we initiate a dialog that critiques such portrayals of DE, particularly those that appear in…

This article continues the conversation begun in Armstrong's (2020) call to Dev Ed'rs kept awake by uncertainty about their professional identity and the future of "The Field" of developmental education and college literacy. Through the lenses of critical discourse analysis and discourse communities, the author examined how Dev Ed'rs…

In this essay I conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis of the language surrounding the California State University (CSU) Chancellor's Office latest plan to curb remediation, the Early Start program. I consider Early Start in the context of what I argue is the evolution of three major frameworks for Basic Writing in the CSU: the CSU Chancellor's…

Special admissions programs may offer access into higher education for students who, for various reasons, do not meet the institutions' standard admissions criteria. Once the special admissions status has been granted, these programs provide support to these students. This paper is not a critique of special admissions programs in general or…

Compared to its predecessor, "Answers in the Tool Box," the preponderance of the "Toolbox Revisited" story has been on the postsecondary side of the matriculation line. Implicitly, it calls on colleges, universities, and community colleges to be a great deal more interventionary in the precollegiate world, to be more self-reflective about the…

Examines telephone discourse of twenty children between two and five years of age for answerer rules, turn-taking, constructional units, conversational acts, closing sequence, and ability to take messages. Shows developmental differences, although mastery of discourse skills appeared only in response categories, and primarily at four and five…

Explores three aspects of temporally displaced talk between mothers and children: (1) the role of the knowledge base in such talk; (2) the effect of mother talk on child talk; and (3) the impact of such talk on the child's knowledge base. Indicates that maternal speech can mediate information and experience and contribute to the child's world…