Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

Freedom of expression has historically been an issue in the United States on college and university campuses. With the recent rise of movements such as Black Lives Matter and Times Up, it is critically important that policies that govern student behavior reflect the constitutionally guaranteed right of students to engage in free speech. This study seeks to examine and compare policy and statement rhetoric that act as guidelines for freedom of expression on the public university campus. This study is significant because it will assist higher education administrators in framing a conversation surrounding freedom of expression policies at their respective higher education institutions. This study is also significant because there has been no similar comparative study that examines the rhetoric of higher education policies surrounding freedom of expression. This study utilizes Chouliaraki and Faircloughs (1999) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework to explore and examine policy and statement rhetoric pertaining to freedom of expression at 15 public research institutions. This study also utilizes Kohlbergs (1981) moral development theory and Baxter Magoldas (1999, 2001) theory of self-authorship to discuss the analysis and how the policies and statements examined in this study support student development. The results of this study show that some universities and policies and statements pertaining to freedom of expression are more restrictive than the policies and statements on freedom of expression at other universities. This study also determined that some universities do proactively offer students education on engaging in freedom of expression acts, but that these educational initiatives are not a part of policy. This study also found that education being provided by universities was limited. Identified in this study are policies and statements at the universities included in the study pertaining to freedom of expression follow federal laws and regulations. Recommendations are also offered as a part of this study and are supported by Kohlbergs (1981) moral development theory and Baxter Magoldas (1999, 2001) theory of self-authorship. These recommendations for universities include keeping policy language open and less restrictive, providing educational programming regarding engaging in freedom of expression and providing a hate and bias incident reporting system that is designed to support students and managed by offices charged with managing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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