4. State policy‐making and school reform: influences and influentials

Mazzoni, Tim L.

doi:10.1080/0268093940090508

Cited by 25 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In addition, chairs were supportive of their governor's initiatives. Although some analysts claim that governors' exert only a "showy influence on selected issues" (Mazzoni, 1994), while leaving most of the "steady work" to legislators, we found that governors and staff were doing more of the policy development and agenda setting that was traditionally the role of legislative committees. For example, Governor Whitman of New Jersey, rather than the legislature, put forward a detailed proposal for a system of statewide standards in 1997.…”

Section: Education Committees and Committee Chairs In Relation To Thementioning

confidence: 98%

Redefining Education Regimes and Reform

Gittell

McKenna

1999

Urban Education

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Governors across the country are playing a more important role in steering education policy than in the past. In our nine-state study of the politics of education from 1995 to 1997, the authors observed governors putting forward major reforms from vouchers to state standards and forming important coalitions with the business community and religious groups. Professional organizations, which have monopolized decision making in education for years, were forced to adjust to these new participants. Charter schools were strongly supported by most governors; they particularly appreciated the competition and local aspects of this reform. Overall, they showed little interest in compensatory funding for city schools, and school finance equity was only an interest if pressure came from property-poor suburbs. Urban schools are in dire need of more equitable and creative reform efforts, but this seems unlikely in the current political climate.State governors became more activist participants in state education policy regimes in the 1990s. Our study of state regimes in nine states revealed that most governors were influential in steering the direction of educational reform in their states, despite resistance from the legislature and the unions. Our research showed that this new cadre of governors was far less concerned with city school 268 AUTHORS' NOTE: We wish to thank

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Section: Education Committees and Committee Chairs In Relation To Thementioning

confidence: 98%

Redefining Education Regimes and Reform

Gittell

McKenna

1999

Urban Education

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“…In education, state-level policy received increased attention in the 1980s during what Mazzoni (1994) called an "eruption" of policy activism at the state level as states mandated "excellence" through standards. States were also a focus of reform in the 1990s as state charter school laws emerged (Mazzoni, 1991) and different state-level accountability systems were created (Anderson, 2001).…”

Section: State-level Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Privatizing Schooling and Policy Making

Anderson

Donchik

2014

Educational Policy

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In this article, we examine the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) as an example of a unique node within larger policy networks composed of new policy entrepreneurs (e.g., venture philanthropists, think tanks, private "edubusinesses" and their lobbyists, advocacy organizations, and social entrepreneurs). These new policy networks, through an array of new modalities of governance and political and discursive strategies, have come to exert an impressive level of influence on public policy in the last 30 years in the United States. We describe and analyze several model education bills that ALEC has promoted and describe the political and discursive strategies ALEC employs. We found that these strategies, which are employed by corporate leaders and largely Republican legislators, are aimed at a strategic alliance of neoliberal, neoconservative, libertarian, and liberal constituencies with the goal of privatizing and marketizing public education.

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“…Second, a business-driven view of the changes fails to explain why business was able to impose its will in an increasingly crowded interest group landscape. Detailed studies of education politics have suggested that since 1980 the number of groups involved in educational reform has multiplied, with business being only one group among many that have sought to make a greater claim over education (Mawhinney & Lugg, 2001;Mazzoni, 1995). The most important of these groups are the teachers unions: one study suggested that in 43 of 50 states they were the most powerful actors in educational politics (Thomas & Herbenar, 1991).…”

Section: Puzzles Not Fully Explained By Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are two problems with this view. First, a business-centered approach does not explain why business groups, which historically have been opposed to school finance reforms in an effort to keep their taxes down (Mazzoni 1995), have come in recent years to see their interests as lying with school reform.…”

Section: Puzzles Not Fully Explained By Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Paradigms Create Politics

Mehta¹

2013

American Educational Research Journal

136

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ABSTRACT:American educational policy was rapidly transformed between 1980 and 2001. Accountability was introduced into a sphere that had long been loosely coupled, both major political parties reevaluated longstanding positions, and significant institutional control over the schooling shifted to the federal government for the first time in the nation's history. These changes cannot be explained by conventional theories such as interest groups, rational choice, and historical institutionalism. Drawing on extensive archival research and more than 80 interviews, this article argues that this transformation can be explained by a changed policy paradigm which restructured the political landscape around education reform. More generally, while previous scholars have observed that "policies create politics," it should also be recognized that "paradigms create politics."

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4. State policy‐making and school reform: influences and influentials

Cited by 25 publications

References 23 publications

Redefining Education Regimes and Reform

Redefining Education Regimes and Reform

Privatizing Schooling and Policy Making

How Paradigms Create Politics

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