Tunjuk Ajar: Journal of Education and Culture
Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): DECEMBER (IN PROGRES)

Educational Hegemony and Culture Wars: Reframing Patriotic Education as Epistemic Control in Trump-Era U.S. Schooling

Idarianty Idarianty (UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi)
Dion Ginanto (UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi)
Felix Peter Umeana (Attwood New Tech Magnet School, USA)



Article Info

Publish Date
02 Jul 2026

Abstract

This critical qualitative research examines the discourse and policy of patriotic education during the era of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States as a form of epistemic control within culture wars. The study analyzes how this hegemonic project is operationalized through three interconnected levels: the articulation of an official narrative in The 1776 Report, the migration and reincarnation of its core logic into state-level legislation such as Florida’s Individual Freedom Act, and its implications and contestations in the classroom. The research findings indicate that The 1776 Report functions as a blueprint for standardizing a “state epistemology” that excludes critical narratives, while threats to abolish the Department of Education and defunding policies aim to weaken the institutional capacity for counter-knowledge. These control efforts, which metamorphosed into state law, ironically triggered epistemic fragmentation and gave birth to various forms of pedagogical resistance. Using a comparative perspective, this study places the U.S. case within the global map of nationalist education politics. It concludes that educational culture wars represent a fundamental struggle over the production of collective memory and the legitimation of knowledge, with serious implications for the shared knowledge foundation required for deliberative democracy.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

tunjuk_ajar

Publisher

Subject

Religion Humanities Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media Social Sciences

Description

Tunjuk Ajar: Journal of Education and Culture focuses on the intersection of education and culture in local, national, and global contexts. The journal highlights the contextualization of education in multicultural and digital societies, and the role of cultural heritage in shaping educational ...