The intellectual landscape of critical policy analysis

Diem, Sarah; Young, Michelle D.; Welton, Anjalé D.; Mansfield, Katherine Cumings; Lee, Pei Ling

doi:10.1080/09518398.2014.916007

Cited by 211 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…We also developed a table of key actors involved in the most recent reorganization, which helped us explore the developing narrative among proponents and opponents of the proposed policy changes. In line with CPA, we paid particular attention to whether and how issues of equity were discussed, and the demographic backgrounds of stakeholders that participated in efforts for or against the reorganization and where they stood on issues (Diem et al, 2014;Diem & Young, 2015). We checked and re-checked our findings to confirm the data collected and that our interpretations and conclusions drawn from the data were well-informed (Miles & Huberman, 1994).…”

Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Critical policy analysis (CPA), the second framework we employed in our analysis, is often used to "discover and/or question the complexity, subjectivity, and equity of policy as well as to illuminate intended and unintended consequences" surrounding the policy process (Diem, Young, Welton, Mansfield, & Lee, 2014). As critical qualitative researchers, we not only assume that policymaking is complex but, as Apple (2013) states, "None of this [policymaking] occurs on a level playing field" (p. 226).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework: Multiple Streams Meets Critical Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scholars that utilize critical approaches to the research tend to focus on five concerns: 1) the difference between policy rhetoric and practiced reality; 2) the roots and development of policies; 3) the distribution of power, resources, and knowledge (i.e., who gets what and why); 4) social stratification, inequality, and privilege; and 5) how nondominant groups resist and engage in policy efforts (Diem et al, 2014). Our research interests in the reorganization of CCSD fall across all of these concerns.…”

Section: Thinking Critically About Multiple Streamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In taking a critical stance on the MS framework, we address the five concerns of critical approaches to policy analysis discussed earlier in this article (Diem et al, 2014). First, we recognize the gap between the policy rhetoric and practiced reality in how A.B.…”

Section: Critical Policy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reorganizing a countywide school district: A critical analysis of politics and policy development toward decentralization

Diem¹,

Sampson²,

Browning³

2018

EPAA

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Policymakers and educational leaders continue to use school district decentralization as a reform effort that attempts to shift power and authority from central office administration to school-level leadership. In 2015, the Nevada Legislature passed legislation to restructure the Clark County School District (CCSD), the state’s largest school district, with the intent of breaking it up into smaller districts but instead evolving to decentralization. In this article, we use case study methods to explore the events leading up to the reorganization of CCSD. We take a critical perspective on Kingdon’s multiple streams framework to analyze the reorganization efforts, focusing specifically on how Nevada’s political context provided a window of opportunity for the reorganization to occur. We also examine the extent to which equitable educational opportunity was a factor in these efforts. Our analysis of the reorganization of CCSD contributes to a wider understanding of state-level policy development and politics within contemporary educational contexts. In this case, we find that state-level policymakers successfully leveraged the opportunity to enact the power and authority necessary to significantly and rapidly impact the structure of one of the largest school districts in the United States.

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Section: Data Collection and Analysismentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Conceptual Framework: Multiple Streams Meets Critical Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thinking Critically About Multiple Streamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Critical Policy Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reorganizing a countywide school district: A critical analysis of politics and policy development toward decentralization

Diem¹,

Sampson²,

Browning³

2018

EPAA

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“…Within this attention, scholars have advocated for the use of critical perspectives and frameworks (e.g., Diem, Young, Welton, Mansfield, & Lee, 2014;. This advocacy has shifted the policy discourse considerably toward studies which essentially ask: whose interests does the policy serve?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locating and applying critical discourse analysis within education policy

Lester

Lochmiller

Gabriel³

2016

EPAA

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This article introduces the first of a two-part Special Issue on Discourse Perspectives and Education Policy. This first special issue is focused on critical discourse analysis and education policy. Within this article, we provide a brief overview of discourse analysis generally and critical discourse analysis specifically. We highlight some of the ways in which policy researchers have applied the theories and methods associated with CDA and note the methodological and substantive contributions of this work. Then, we provide an overview of the six papers included within this special issue, noting each paper’s key points and explicit links to policy. We conclude by pointing to future directions for research at the intersection of education policy and discourse studies.

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