Browsing by Subject "Policy implementation"
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Item Bureaucratic access points and leverage(2013-08) Sternemann, Daniel Thomas; Jones, Bryan D.This project studies how bureaucratic behavior influences policy implementation. It presents a novel bureaucratic access points and leverage theory, which help us understand how policies are successfully implemented in the midst of bureaucratic challenges resulting from organizational roles and responsibilities and contrasting assessments. The concept of access points has traditionally involved lobbyists and interest groups accessing elected officials and their staffs. I ask what is the effect of bureaucrats accessing bureaucrats directly in the policy implementation process and its subsequent evaluation. I argue that bureaucrats leverage other bureaucrats during policy implementation proceedings, which adds the notion of power to access points theory. The focus of this investigation is the relationship between humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) agencies and associated Department of Defense (DOD) components, particularly DOD medical components providing wellness intervention. Bureaucratic access and leverage enables a more unified implementation of over-arching HA/DR policy by disparate agencies with unique missions, resources, capabilities, and assessment measures. The existing literature does not fully capture how such agency differences are mitigated and overcome in implementing policy that spans multiple entities. Bureaucratic access points and leverage theory offers bureaucrats the analytical capability to know who is controlling policy implementation. It also presents a tool they can use to maintain and increase their own influence and power within a policy domain.Item Design matters : the relationship between policy design, context, and implementation in integration plans based on voluntary choice and socioeconomic status(2010-05) Diem, Sarah Lauren; Holme, Jennifer Jellison; Reyes, Pedro; Young, Michelle D.; Cantu, Norma; Ferguson, MiguelThe recent decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007) has forced school districts to begin thinking of new ways to integrate their schools without relying on race as the single factor in their assignment plans. While some school districts already have begun to implement race-neutral student assignments, others are just beginning the process and are looking to plans that have been able to maintain diversity despite the new limitations being placed on them. In order to learn more about what factors are most critical in shaping racial and socioeconomic diversity in school districts, I examined the interaction between the design and implementation of 3 different integration plans that rely on voluntary choice and socioeconomic status (SES). I wanted to determine whether these factors had any effect on the way such integration plans are employed and ultimately on school-level diversity outcomes. I was also interested in learning how the local sociopolitical context influenced outcomes. I used qualitative case methodology, which allowed me to focus on the processes and meanings behind the plans. I conducted a historical analysis of desegregation on each of the school districts and used data collected from documents and interviews to analyze how design interacted with context to produce particular outcomes. I situated my analysis in the education policy implementation literature as it tells us that people and places play integral roles in how a policy is designed, adopted, and implemented. The ultimate success of a policy is heavily influenced by the actors involved in the creation of the policy as well as the context in which the policy is implemented. I found that the success of these plans depends heavily on their context. Urban school districts that have high poverty levels and few White students have a difficult time maintaining diversity, whereas school districts that incorporate the city and surrounding suburbs are more likely to maintain diversity because White, middle-class families do not have the same opportunity to flee the district. Furthermore, school districts that use geographic zoning and regulated choice are able to maintain higher levels of diversity. Support from the community and local policymakers also can play a role in the success of integration plans. The findings suggest that geographic and political contexts matter in the shaping and adoption of integration plans based on voluntary choice and SES. I offer suggestions to maintain integration given the local sociopolitical context of the school districts.Item The effects of mentoring standards as a policy instrument on the mentor-mentee relationship of beginning math and science teachers in high-poverty middle schools(2013-05) Dietz, Laurel Kathleen, 1963-; Vasquez Heilig, JulianInduction and mentoring programs are often portrayed as commonsense policy solutions to lower teacher attrition, build beginning teacher capability and ultimately, raise student achievement. Mentoring standards however, have rarely been examined to see how their interpretation and implementation influence the relationship of mentor-mentee pairs in local contexts under a state voluntary induction and mentoring program. In this multi-cased qualitative study, I interviewed nine mentor-mentee pairs and conducted separate mentor and mentee focus groups as well as observing the mentor and mentee interact during an observational cycle in seven high poverty middle schools under Texas' Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring (BTIM) program. I also performed a content analysis of mentor training and support materials. Using Cohen and Moffitt's policy implementation framework I found that due to the lack of specificity and formalness of mentoring standards in BTIM-specific and non-specific documents, and the spottiness of mentor initial training, most mentors and mentees needed to rely on their capabilities and dispositions to define their roles. Consequently, it seemed that in the eyes of the mentors and mentees their relationship was informal; this was reflected in the roles that they assumed. Based on the study results, I recommend that mentoring standards for the mentor and mentee be more specific and formally defined. Indeed, there appears to be a need to formally conceptualize mentoring from its policy aims to its policy instruments within mentoring policy.Item A multifocal analysis of Korean educational policies on the teaching profession(2011-05) Kim, Kyu Tae; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-; Sharpe, Edwin R.; Young, Michelle D.; Holme, Jennifer J.; Sakamoto, ArthurKorean education policies were derived from the 5.31 Education Reform oriented to the increase of autonomy and accountability for school effectiveness and the quality instruction through teacher professionalism enhancement. The policies are related to the influences of historical events and contexts embedded in the interactions of policy players who have their own arguments, particularly professionalism versus managerialism. The policies have been driven by right-wing perspectives. As a result, the roles, powers, functions, and structures of teaching profession have gradually changed. From the structural analysts, Basil Bernstein and Michel Foucault, teaching profession has become a system of supervision, compliance, normalization, isomorphism related to the collection code. The dynamic, complex and multilevel policy implementation need to be analyzed from a multifocal approach coupled with historical institutional, political, and structural analysis. This analysis contributes to understanding the changes of teaching profession resulted from intricate and dynamic interactions embedded in policy environments causing or influencing policy implementation directly and indirectly. Korean educational policy analysts, generally, tend to use one of the institutional, the political, and the structural perspective. Most policy analyses are concerned with the political analysis focused on exploring the political interaction between policy players, presenting policy issues and alternatives, analyzing the new institutionalism of education policy formation and implementation process, and influencing of policies on school organization and teachers apart from the political environment and the political interactions. In this respect, the multifocal policy analysis will be beneficial to shed light on a multifocal analysis of Korean educational policies.Item Politics, policy, and normative state culture : Texas trafficking policy and education as a medium for social change(2015-12) Lemke, Melinda Anne; Holme, Jennifer Jellison; González-López, Gloria; Reyes, Pedro; Salinas, Cinthia; Valenzuela, AngelaOver the last two decades, human trafficking has become a significant international, United States, and individual state policy issue. Non-governmental organizations and various academic disciplines have augmented emphasis on trafficking and commercial exploitation. Despite its significance as a policy issue, there is a dearth of educational policy research and K-12 professional knowledge about trafficking, a pressing global issue in need of innovative policy and programmatic solutions. K-12 educational personnel have daily contact with students placing them on the “front line” of trafficking identification and prevention. Despite being mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse, educators often lack professional development or have limited access to service referral information. In 2013 the 83rd Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1272 (HB 1272), which mandated that the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force (Task Force) create a K-12 curriculum on trafficking dynamics to assist with statewide trafficking efforts. A first of its kind in Texas legislative history, HB 1272 also is one of few state policies focused on including educational staff in policy-driven solutions to the eradication of a gross human rights abuse. Through a multifocal theoretical approach, in this study I frame key trafficking dynamics, the policy context, and examine a new area of educational policy research – how Texas policy includes educational personnel in helping to identify and prevent trafficking. Through a two-part qualitative study, political and normative dynamics that shaped the creation of HB 1272, as well as the organizational, political, and normative dynamics contributing to policy implementation are examined. Using qualitative methodology, data collection and analysis included 79 documents, 15 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, 1 informal interview, and 15 hours of participant observation. The first findings chapter on the Texas Legislature points to expedited, uncontested, and bipartisan enactment of a political and normatively-driven policy topic. Respondents perceive educators to be on the “front line” of statewide trafficking identification and prevention efforts. Yet, legislative efforts bent on involving educational personnel in this policy arena are complicated by an inconsistent legislative knowledge base about state trafficking policy history and key trafficking dynamics. Despite the appearance of bipartisan support for this legislation, slippage was identified in areas such as the lack of funding for HB 1272 curriculum development and concerns about local education control. Finally, normative dynamics that intertwine with identified political issues could impede effective implementation of HB 1272 and the development of “multisector” trafficking prevention. Overall, findings demonstrate a mixed legislative will to address trafficking through HB 1272 and public education. The second findings chapter covers the Task Force Education Workgroup, the entity charged with HB 1272’s implementation. Participant observation and document analysis reveal an implementation process rooted in compromise between a limited number of stakeholders and the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Respondent interviews point to the Workgroup constituting an elite implementation community based on member knowledge about trafficking and access to implementation processes. Yet, implementation slippage was found through issues like a lack of educator participation, “behind-the-scenes” curriculum development, and OAG influence on implementation. Finally, despite clear policy gains for statewide trafficking efforts, a range of normative roadblocks could impede the successful implementation of HB 1272. Overall, findings reveal that intertwined organizational, political, and normative dynamics influenced how implementation actors interpreted and implemented HB 1272. The conclusion summarizes research findings, covers implications for research and theory, and offers policy and practitioner recommendations.Item Stakeholders perceptions of middle school policy choice design, implementation and repeal in Seoul, Korea(2014-12) Kim, Tae Jung, active 21st century; Reyes, Pedro, 1954-The direction of high school choice policy has been one of the notable commitments every time the candidates of the superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education makes since the policy was repeatedly repealed and decided to be maintained. During the implementation of the policy, conflicts among policy related groups, such as teachers and parents, affected the decisions of the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to alternately repeal and maintain the policy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspective gap, roles and influence among two different types of policy actors: teachers, and parents. Through this approach, the study examines the goals and outcomes of the policy, and addresses the success and failure of the policy through the different perceptions of practitioners, and consumers. In order to achieve these goals, this study used a qualitative research method involving thirty-nine teachers and parents. The findings revealed that teachers and parents viewed that there are chronic policy making problems in Korea, which influence the frequent changes made to the high school choice policy. The absence of communication between a policy maker, policy practitioners, and policy consumers, a product of the top down decision making structure in Korea, has led to inefficiency and inflexibility the policy’s implementation and practice. Teachers and parents suggested that they should be able to contribute to policy consistency and successful implementation through early involvement in policy design and development. Understanding each role and exploring the perceptions of policy relevant actors in high school choice policy in Seoul provides a as well as providing for the further related policies.Item Strategic political resource allocation(2009-05) Mastronardi, Nick; Hendricks, KennethEconomics is the study of the allocation of resources. Since Arrow's Fundamental Welfare Theorems, we know that competitive-markets achieve Pareto allocations when governments correct market failures. Thus, it has largely been the mission of economists to serve as 'Market Engineers': To identify and quantify market failures so the government can implement Pareto-improving policy (make everyone better without making anyone worse). Do Pareto- improving policies get implemented? How does policy become implemented? Achieving a Pareto efficient allocation of a nation's resources requires studying the implementation of policy, and therefore studying the allocation of political resources that influence policy. Policy implementation begins with the electoral process. In this dissertation, I use auction analysis, econometrics, and game theory to study political resource allocations in the electoral process. This dissertation consists of three research papers: Finance-Augmented Median-Voter Model, Vote Empirics, and Colonel Blotto Strategies. The Finance-Augmented Median-Voter Model postulates that candidates' campaign expenditures are bids in a first-price asymmetric all-pay auction in order to explain campaign expenditure behavior. Vote Empirics empirically analyzes the impacts of campaign expenditures, incumbency status, and district voter registration statistics on observed vote-share results from the 2004 congressional election. Colonel Blotto Strategies postulates that parties' campaign allocations across congressional districts may be a version of the classic Col Blotto game from Game Theory. While some equilibrium strategies and equilibrium payoffs have been identified, this paper completely characterizes players' optimal strategies. In total, this dissertation solves candidates' optimal campaign expenditure strategies when campaign expenditures are bids in an all-pay auction. The analysis demonstrates the need for understanding exactly the impacts of various factors, including strategic expenditures, on final vote results. The research uses econometric techniques to identify the effects. Last, the research derives the complete characterization of Col Blotto strategies. Discussed extensions provide testable predictions for cross-district Party contributions. I present this research not as a final statement to the literature, but in hopes that future research will continue its explanation of political resource allocation. An even greater hope is that in time this literature will be used to identify optimal "policy-influencing policies"; constitutional election policies that provide for the implementation of Pareto-improving government policies.