Policy Analysis for Educational Leaders: A Step-by-Step Approach, 1st edition
Published by Pearson (January 23, 2012) © 2013
- Nicola A. Alexander
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Chapter Objectives: Highlight the salient points of each chapter
News Stories for Analysis: Provide examples of existing educational policies and opportunities for critical analysis
Discussion Questions: Inspire additional critical thinking and application of key topics
Chapter-by-Chapter Annotated Bibliographies: synthesize applicable print and web resources to help to inspire further research and continued education
Dedication
Chapter 1: Laying the groundwork
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Why should leaders study policy analysis
Players on the leadership landscape
What policy analysis can do
The role of persuasion
Users of policy analysis
Why use this text?
What is policy analysis?
A brief definition
Why policy analysis?
The goal of policy analysis
Types of policy analysisEx Post and Ex Ante Analysis
Forecasting, prescribing, monitoring, evaluating
Rational, Structural, Cultural Lens
Transparency versus Objectivity
Philosophies of education
Values: Cornerstone of worldviews and philosophies
Brief overview of worldviews
Eight common values
Defining philosophy
Key philosophies and their role in education policy
Idealism
Realism
Pragmatism
Phenomenology and existentialism
Neo-Marxism
Postmodernism and critical theory
Policy values in action
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 2: Getting started at the beginning: thinking of policy analysis as problem analysis
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Where do you start?
The role of leaders
Policy analysis as problem analysis
The problem is the beginning of analysis
Differences between condition, policy problems, and policy issues
The policy analysis process
The complexities of policy analysis
Policy analysis versus policymaking
The role of policy analysts
Phases in policymaking
Problem stream
Politics stream
Policy stream
Stages of the policy-making process
Issue definition Agenda settingPolicy formulation
Policy adoption Policy implementation Policy evaluationPolicy Analysis is not Policy Evaluation
Focusing on the problem
Policy evaluation
Policy evaluation as feedback
Policy evaluation as summative judgment
Going beyond evaluation
The steps to policy analysis
The craft of policy analysis
Key questions of the policy analysis process
Creating a policy analysis roadmap
Ten steps of policy analysis
Define the problem
Make the case
Establish your driving values
Come up with alternatives
Weigh your options
Make recommendation
Persuade us
Implement solution
Monitor outputs
Evaluate outcomes
Stepping stones of policy analysis
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 3: Taking the first step: Define the problem
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Structuring the problem
Writing a clear description of the problem
Different phases in problem structuring
Problematic Characteristics of policy problems
Personal versus policy problem
Interdependence of problems
Subjectivity and artificiality of structuring policy problem
Dynamic nature of policy problems
Building on your condition statement
Making the condition a problem
Scope of the problem
Bounding the problem
Who is included?
Causes of the problem
Rational perspective
Institutional perspective
Cultural perspective
Goals and objectives of solving the problem identified
The goal is the obverse of the problemObjectives are working definitions of goals
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 4: Make the case by assembling the evidence
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Purpose of assembling the evidence
Functions of research
Transforming data into evidence
Assessing the nature and extent of the problem
Assessing the particular features of an identified policy situation
Assessing past policies
Using the purpose of the evidence to determine what is needed
Evidence for monitoring
Evidence for prescription\
Evidence for evaluation
Evidence for forecasting
Determining the value of specific data
How do you make good use of data
Building your argument
Assessing data contexts
How to locate relevant sources
People and documents are key
Collection strategies
Data from people within and without your organization
Data from documents from within and without your organization
How to categorize types of data
Quantitative or qualitative debate
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 5: Establish your driving values
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
What do you care about?
Establish evaluative criteria
Relationship between values and criteria
What does success look like?
What are the specific criteria that frame policy decisions
Does it work?
How will you know?Is it fair?
Horizontal equity
Vertical equity
Transitional equity
Ability to pay
Benefits principle
Can we afford it?
What is the role of economics?
Opportunity costs
Private versus public benefits
Market failures
Provision versus production
Counting the costs
Costs versus benefits
Decision tools
How can you tell?
Using the economic tools
Cost-benefit analysis
Will people support it?
How acceptable is the alternative to different groups?What factors will influence the political acceptability of policy?
How can you measure the acceptability of a policy?
How can you change the acceptability of policy intervention?
Who will implement it?
Is there sufficient administrative capacity?
What are the major organizational limitations?
How can you tell?
Difference from the status quo
Policy instrument
Personnel support
Available resources
What if the criteria conflict?
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 6: Come up with alternatives
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
What are alternatives?
Alternatives are not outcomes
Alternatives are not an implementation plan
Basic alternatives and their variants
Finding alternatives by modeling the system
The metaphor of the market
Production metaphor
Evolutionary models
Doing nothing different
How do you generate alternatives
Sources of alternativesGeneric alternatives
Customizing policy interventions
Policy typesPolicy mechanisms and best practice context
Inducements
Capacity-building
System change
Mandates
Hortatory
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 7: Weigh your options (Evaluating alternatives)
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
How do you weigh your options?
Anticipating the future
Safeguards in forecasting
Discussing relevant criteria
Measuring effectiveness
Measuring equity
Measuring costs
Measuring political feasibility
Measuring implementability
Packaging your alternatives
Distinguishing between alternatives
Using quick quantitative analysis
Creating a scorecard
Evaluating alternatives – single step, “norm based” approach
Evaluating alternatives – two-step, “criterion-base” approach
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 8: Make Recommendation
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Transforming tradeoffs into preferred results
Beyond eenie, meenie, minie, moe
Role of the analyst
Transform values into results
Education leader as researcher, bureaucrat, or entrepreneur
Policy analyst as advisor and decision maker
Need for advocacy
Value laden arguments
Ethically complex arguments
Is there one best way?
Refine approaches to recommendation
Testing the credibility of your recommendation
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 9: Persuade us
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
The art of communication
How to convey your analysis
Who is your audience?
Expectations of audience
Audience knowledge and understanding
Audience response to solution
Audience forum
Homogenous or diverse
Complete or abridged analysis
Time
Making the policy argument
Authority
Method
Generalization
Classification
Cause
Sign
Motivation
Intuition
Analogy
Parallel case
Ethics
Checklist of communicating analysis
Timeliness
Clarity of findings
So what?
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 10: Implement recommended action
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Setting the stage for change
Why won’t it work
Creating an implementation planOutline the plan
Expand the outline
Check your plan
Implementing strategically
Major implementation challenges
Human (people-related) problems
Process (program-related) problems
Structural (setting-related) problems
Institutional (program; setting-related) problems
Stages in implementation
Mobilization
Implementation proper
Institutionalization
Chapter summary
Review questions
News story for analysis
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 11: Monitor outputs of action
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
What is monitoring?
Functions of monitoring
Compliance
Accounting
Auditing
Explanation
What should we track?
Functions, data, and data sources
Three key monitoring questions
Why should we track these data?
Who should track the required data?
How often should we track these data?
Methods of tracking
Establishing baselines
Determining what change is being measured
Measurement across space and time
Units of analysis
Displaying data
Chapter summaryReview questions
News Story for Analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Chapter 12: Evaluate outcomes
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Evaluating versus monitoring
Focus of evaluation
Types of evaluation
Purpose of evaluation
Formative evaluations
Summative evaluations
Users of evaluation
Approaches to evaluation
Methods of evaluation
Components of an evaluation plan
Analytical considerations
Common methods of assessment
Randomized control trials
Direct controlled experiments
Quasi-experimental models
Matching
Before and after comparisons
With and without comparisons
Non-experimental direct analysis
Political considerations
Chapter summary
Review questions
News Story for Analysis
Discussion Questions S
elected websites S
elected references
Chapter 13: Concluding remarks and Pullout Field guide
Chapter objectives
Education vignette
Remember why we do policy analysis
Policy analysis and you
Policy analysis and the community
Policy analysis and change
Policy analysis and evaluation
An Illustration of the steps in Policy Analysis using an existing policy example Elementary and Secondary Education ActDefine the problem
Make the case
Establish your driving values
Come up with alternatives
Weigh your options
Make recommendation
Persuade us
Implement solution
Monitor outputs
Evaluate outcomes
Chapter summary
Review questions
News Story for Analysis
Discussion Questions
Selected websites
Selected references
Summary of checklist for each step (Pullout field guide)
References
Nicola A. Alexander is an Associate Professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota. Her formal educational background is in public administration and policy; she is particularly interested in issues of adequacy, equity, and productivity as they relate to PK-12 education. Dr. Alexander is a board member of the National Education Finance Association and has published in American Educational Research Journal, Educational Policy, Journal of School Business Management, and Journal of Education Finance.
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