Evaluating How Rhetoric Around Real Estate Relates to Urban Schooling

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore people’s language regarding neighborhoods and schools by analyzing comments in the New York Times real estate posting’s comment section. This study used framing theory to understand the close analysis of these comments. The use of close analysis, looking at how the comments were framed based on alignment or non-alignment with urban poverty theory and systemic racism theory, allowed commenters’ underlying ideologies to emerge. As such, this research examined participants’ language to see if it reflects critical awareness (or not) and/or a deeper historical knowledge of residential segregation. Specifically, this study seeks to link the rhetoric around urban areas to the rhetoric around urban schooling through its findings. The current study uncovers the stereotypes that commenters tend to rely on when describing perceived non-affluent areas and connect this finding around real estate to previous studies which have found similar stereotypes used in describing urban schools