Key Articles Education Policy

Front 1

McDonnell, Lorraine
Elmore, Richard F.
1987

Back 1

Alternative policy instruments –the mechanisms that translate policy goals into concrete actions
Mandates, inducements, capacity building, system changing

Front 2

Cuban
1990

Back 2

Reforms again and again
Says reforming not working theories: 1. Rational explanation-if people just thought it through- pendulum and cycle (conservative/liberal)
Cuban-public shifts in values
Also public turns to its school in time turmoil
American faith that schools are engine social and individual improvement—WAVE model, turmoil happens and impetus for reform (values), crests impact all of society, and spillover into schools or public institutions responding to public
Teacher isolation- loose coupling between district /classroom

Front 3

Lorraine M. McDonnell (2004).

Back 3

In Persuasion, Politics, and Testing
She adds Hortatory is another policy instrument
Targets (of this policy instrument) will mobilize (politicians using symbols and images), based on their values, but actions may be diffuse unpredictable
Information and values as policy tools

Front 4

Portz 1996

Back 4

He who defines the problems, defines the solution
Agenda setting, strategic representation of situations, to marshal support for the solution (Portz- agent Kingdon’s1995 --policy entrepreneur
He says they while policymakers have introduced numerous reforms—attention is in actuality fragmented because the problem is either ill-defined or has competing definitions
Example: poor education is due to: poor teaching, limited resources, weak curriculum, faulty governance- all of these are seen by different factions as the source of the problem.

Front 5

Weiss, 1989

Back 5

Emphasizes the role of entrepreneur in government- entrepreneurship appears to be a necessary thought not sufficient condition redefinition and movement onto the agenda.

Front 6

Kindgon 1995
Agendas, alternatives and public policies

Back 6

Entrepreneur joins three process streams, -problems, policies and politics when a window of opportunity opens

Front 7

Kelman 1987
Making public policy a hopeful view of American government

Back 7

Institutional design has impact on substantive policies selected.
School governance—electing SB- to allow public access-to budgeting/
Credentialing policies
Kelman –sees policy-makers motivated by public spirit
Key comment: by determining who gets to initiate policy, whose arguments shall be heard, and where the final authority is vested, institutional designs affect the political process and inevitably, the substantive results of said process.

Front 8

Chrispeels (1997)
Educational Policy Implementation

Back 8

Analyzed the CLAS testing –thru idea of changing schools by capacity building (Subject Matter Projects-TCAP)/inducements (SIP and PQR) and frameworks.
Concept that policies that “make sense” can maintain district support when state slips away.
Intertextual comparison of policy documents of 10-year period.--

Front 9

Wirst/Kirst

Back 9

Key phrases:
Politics: social conflict rooted in group differences using public resources to meet private needs
Governance: process of publicly resolving group conflict by means of creating and administrating public policy.

Front 10

White & Wehlage, 1995

Back 10

Examine the principal agent model; they wanted to see how the slippage occurred between policy and practice.
Slippage occurred even when there was agreement about the nature of problem, problems developed over method of implementation (NCLB-problem too many children not achieving at proficient levels-implementation of policies/tests etc major disagreements)
In their article- they examined the disconnect from “street level implementation” to management intent-
Consider district level/county/state and classroom

Also propose that he who ids the problem-defines the problem

Front 11

Richard F. Elmore and Milbry W. McLaughlin, (1988)

Back 11

They believe that the connection between policymakers and practitioners must be strengthened. ( na -PI is an example of further fractionalizing that connection)
They believe that to alter basic conditions of teaching and learning it will involve “steady work”- reforms must originate in the practice of teaching rather in expert advice and external standards.

Reform can originate in three ways:
1.Changes in professionals views of effective practice,
2. Changes in administrators perceptions of how to manage competing demands and how to translate these demands into structure and process
3. Changes in elected officials’ views of what citizens demand that result in authoritative decisions.

Front 12

Joel spring
Joel Spring
Conflicts of interests
2002

Back 12

The american educational system is at the nexus of conflicts over various issues and values- and people use education as place to demand authority/ etc.
Power /knowledge- he who has the power

Front 13

Marshall, Mitchell, and Wirt 1989

Back 13

Examines policy thru a matrix of policy domain and value,
Policy domains: program, finance, organization&governance. Value: efficiency, equity, quality, and choice. Used this matrix to assess policymakers values/--saw increased swing to quality as key value
The importance of this is how the role of cultural values then impacts/shapes policy at the state level.

Front 14

Nicholas Lemann. (2001, July 2). Testing Limits

Back 14

New Yorker article that discusses the politics of compromise behind the NCLB. the push for disaggregation,