Policy Studies in Education:Definition of the Field

TSANG Wing-kwong

Ho Tim Building, Rm 416Ext. 6922

wktsang@cuhk.edu.hkWWW.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~wktsang

EDD5213

Policy: In Search of Definition

Thomas Dye’s Definition:

“Public Policy is concerned with what governments do, why they do it, and what difference it makes. It is about political (/social) science(s) and the ability of this discipline to describe, analyze, and explain public policy. Public policy is whatever government choose to do or not to do.”

Stuart S. Negal’s Definition “Public Policy analysis can be defined as

determining which of various alternative public or governmental policy will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals.

Policy: In Search of Definition

“That definition brings out four key elements of policy evaluation which are:

Goals, including normative constraints and relative weights for the goals.

Policies, programs, projects, decisions, options, means, or other alternatives that are available for achieving the goals.

Relations between the policies and the goals, including relations that are established by intuition, authority, statistics, observation, deduction, guesses, or other means

Draw a conclusion as to which policy or combination of policies is best to adopt in light of the goals, policies, and relations.

Stuart S. Negal’s Definition (cont’d)

Policy: In Search of Definition

The Interactionist Definition “The conscious attempt of officials, legislators,

and interested publics to find constructive responses to the needs and pathologies which they observe in their surrounding culture.”

(The National Academy of Education)

Policy: In Search of Definition

Aron Wildovsky’s Definition “Policy is a process as well as a product. It is used

to refer to a process of decision-making and also the product of that process.” (1979)

Policy: In Search of Definition

Frank Fischer’s Definition “Public policy is a discursive construct rather than a

self-defining phenomenon.” (Fischer, 2003, p. 69) ” “We define policy as a political agreement on a course

of action (or inaction) designed to resolve or mitigate problems on the political agenda. This agreement…is an intellectual constructs rather than a self-defining phenomenon. Discursively constructed, there can be no inherently unique decision, institutions, or actors constituting public policy that are to be identified, uncovered, and explained. Public policy, as such, is an analytical category with a substantive content cannot be simply researched; more fundamentally, it has to be interpreted.” (p.60)

Policy: In Search of Definition

Stephen J. Ball’s Definition “Policy is clearly a matter of the ‘authoritative

allocation of values’; policies are the operational statements of values, ‘statements of prescriptive intent’ (Kogan 1975 p.55). But values do not float free of their social context. We need to ask whose values are validated in policy, and whose are not. Thus, ‘The authoritative allocation of values draws our attention to the centrality of power and control in the concept of policy’ (Prunty 1985 p.135). Policies project images of an ideal society (education policies project definitions of what counts as education).”

Constituents of Public Policy

Decision MakersActors

Administrative Officials Program administrators Front-line service deliverers Recipients Stakeholders End users

Policy GoalPolicy Means and MeasuresPolicy Causality and Conclusion

Constituents of Public Policy

Policy Implementation Stick: Regulations Carrot: Economic policy instruments Sermon: Information, education and persuasion

Policy Outcomes, Consequences, and Evaluation

The Prevailed Values Policy as text Policy as signifiers Policy as ideological apparatus

Policy Study: Definition of the Field

Study of the Policy Study for the Policy

Policy Study: Definition of the Field

Study of the Policy Study of the policy content Study of the policy process Study of the policy outcome Study of the authoritatively allocated values Study of the policy discourse

Policy Study: Definition of the Field

Study for the Policy Study for policy making

Causal analysisFeasibility studyCost-effectiveness analysisCost-benefit analysisCost-utility analysis

Study for policy advocacy Study for policy criticism

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Analytical-technical perspective in policy studies in education Epistemological assumptions

Empirically, realities under study are observable, recordable, measurable and calculable

Analytically, the phenomena under study are dividable into causally connected parts, which in turn form a comprehensive whole

Methodologically, propositions under investigation are verifiable or even repeatable similar to laboratorial experiments in natural sciences

Results and conclusions drawn from studies are universally applicable to great varieties of situations

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Analytical-technical perspective in policy studies in education (cont’d)

Practical assumptions Policy makings are technical and rational choices of the

best solutions to the well identified and defined problems

Technical procedures of intervention can therefore be specified and even standardized

Policy means and measures used to intervene can manipulated and engineered

The policy environments to be engineered will respond and react according to engineering designs

Designed policy effects are recordable and calculable neutrally and objectively as stock taking and auditing

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Analytical-technical perspective in policy studies in education (cont’d)

Hence, policy studies and practices are comprehended as scientific and engineering projects

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Interpretative-political perspective in policy studies in education Epistemological assumptions

Realities under study are socially and culturally constructed realities rather than objectively and naturally preexisting realities

Phenomena under study are embedded with socially and culturally attributed or even imputed meanings and values

Methodologically, policy studies are to understand the meanings and valued embedded in policy environments and phenomena

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Interpretative-political perspective in policy studies in education (cont’d)

Practical assumptions Policy makings are political deliberations, negotiation,

checks and balances and building consensuses of different or even contradictory interpretations of policy realities and phenomena

Policy implementations are processes of (second round) negotiation, persuasions, and team-building in which policy mandates are specified and localized into social, political and cultural environments which policy measures are supposed to take holds and materialized

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Interpretative-political perspective in policy studies in education Practical assumptions (cont’d)

Responses and reactions of policy environments are not automatic but are open to negotiations, resistances or even deliberately alterations

Policy evaluations are yet another round of interpretations and negotiations on the effectiveness, benefits, and pitfalls of the policy measures concerned

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Interpretative-political perspective in policy studies in education (cont’d)

Hence, policy studies and practices are political projects of negotiations, checks and balances, compromises and trade-offs

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Discursive-critical perspective in policy studies in education Epistemological assumptions

Realities under study are socially and culturally constructed realities hypostatized, frozen and probably distorted by given historical, social and political institutions

Phenomena under study are assumed to be power-hypostatized and institution-biased in favor and/or against different groupings in given historical and social contexts

Methodologically, policy studies are to reveal and critique the systemic distortions and biases hypostatized and legitimatized in given policy phenomena

Perspectives in Policy Studies in Education

Discursive-critical perspective in policy studies in education Practical assumptions

Policy makings are processes of finding and constituting resolutions to rectify the systemic distortions and biases embedded in given policy realities

Policy implementations are coercive processes of redistributions of resources and powers in favor of the “suppressed” groups and against the “suppressing groups” existing in particular policy phenomena

Hence, policy studies and practices are critical projects of critiques and rectifications of systemic distortions and biases in given policy realities

Topic 2Policy Studies in Education:

Definition of the Field

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