Chapter 1<br >Text and Discourse in Education: An Introduction to<br > Critical Discourse Analysis<br > ALLAN LUKE<br >James Cook University of North Queensland<br > Townsville. Queensland. Australia<br >INTRODUCTION: LANGUAGE， DISCOURSE， AND EDUCATION<br > IN POSTMODERN CONDITIONS<br > If we take seriously lessohs from the sociology of science， it would be<br >unwise to interpret paradigm shifts in educational research in terms of the<br >succession of disciplinary truths， the emergence of more refined and exacting<br >methods， and a continually improving "state of the art." To embrace such a<br >view of research--a view that often guides annum reviews of research，<br >overviews of the field， encyclopedias， handbooks， and so forth--would be<br >to define educational research first and foremost as a positivist and empiricist<br >enterprise. Like other kinds of "official knowledge" (Apple， 1993)， educa-<br >tional research is mediated by a complex political economy that entails the<br >immediate statements and imperatives of the institutions it serves; the politics<br >of the academies， government funding<br >theory， research， and curriculum work is<br >agencies， and corporations where<br >undertaken; and larger political and<br >economic interests that influence what can be said， by whom， and in what<br >terms across and within institutions. Of course， social sciences and educational<br >studies do produce and circulate new knowledge， and researchers are able<br >to assert varying kinds and degrees of agency in ascertaining and asserting<br >what should count as educational research in local sites. But a broader social<br >analysis is necessary to grasp how particular perspectives， methods， and<br >"truths" are made available， selected， and framed for the work of education<br >(Apple， 1985; Wexler， 1987).<br > Since the Second World War， two major demographic and socioeconomic<br >changes have placed issues of language， discourse， and difference on the<br >educational agenda: the expanded recognition of the educational entitlements<br > I thank Michael Apple for his editorial leadership and encouragement， Kris Gutierrez for<br >expert editorial critique and suggestions， and Ahlin Wong Luke and Mei-Ling Shiroishi for<br >support while completing the manuscript.<br ><br >