Understanding Educational Policy Formation

Abstract

This study explores mechanisms underlying processes of educational policy formation. Previous studies have given much attention to processes of diffusion when accounting for educational policy formation. Less account has been given to the day-to-day institutional dynamics through which educational policies develop and change. Building on extensive governmental archival data, complemented with interviews and media analysis, I study the development and transformation of school violence policies in Israel. I argue that diffusion of global policy ideas and practices provides the menu of possible policies, while within-country struggles over legitimacy in the policy domain serve as a mechanism shaping which items on the menu becomes actual policy. Specifically, in the Israeli case, the interest in and action toward school violence were influenced by a global trend, but the actions of Psychological-Counseling Services (PCS) who struggled to assert their legitimacy as the authority on school violence in the Israeli Ministry of Education (MOE) shaped the adoption, rejection, and institutionalization of the specific school violence policy ideas and practices.

Education for Sustainability Policies: Ramifications for Practice

“…This idea of policy writers drawing on existing policies demonstrates how policies are positioned within policies, so that every new policy can be seen to be an iteration of previous policies. Of particular concern and relevance to this paper, Fast (2016) has found there is a significant lack of consideration for "contextual variation" during policy writing.…”

“…That is, the way policy is "interpreted and translated" does not always align with the way it was intended by policy writers. Fast (2016) reinforces this argument by suggesting policy writers commonly "draw on existing repertoires of viable policy ideas and ideologies, often from other countries or international actors" with seemingly little consideration of "great contextual variation in how local dynamics shape […] policies" (pp. 60-61).…”

Contribuições Da Teoria Institucional Para a Análise Da Gestão De Escolas: Um Estudo De Caso De Escola Pública Brasileira Bem Sucedida Nos Índices De Desempenho Da Educação Básica

“…Essa tendência é recorrente nos poucos estudos sobre processos institucionais de escolas (Meyer;, mesmo naqueles que discutem o aparecimento de novas estruturas educacionais (Rowan,1982), a natureza dos sistemas educacionais e suas reformas (Fusarelli,2002), a conduta de organizações escolares (Meyer;, bem como os efeitos da escola nos resultados dos alunos (Berends, 2015). Salienta-se que os mecanismos dos processos institucionais que envolvem a gestão das escolas têm sido negligenciados nessa agenda de pesquisa (Fast, 2016, Bidwell, 2006. Acredita-se que a escassez desses estudos seja decorrente da expansão global da educação que pressiona para uma uniformidade sobre o que as nações e as escolas deveriam ser.…”

“…Como consequência as pesquisas sobre processos de institucionalização, envolvendo os aspectos culturais têm caminhado lentamente como permanecem vagas no que se referem aos processos institucionais da gestão educacional (Meyer;. Visando dirimir essa lacuna fortalecem-se as vozes em prol de estudos que ampliem a base empírica de pesquisas sobre processos de institucionalização (Fast, 2016), e, ao fazê-lo resgate-se a dinâmica e o papel dos valores e significados desses processos (Hatch, 2012;Kraatz;Ventresca ;Deng, 2012 (Guarido Filho, 2008) principalmente aquelas que tratam da gestão das escolas.…”