Researching Education Policy, Public Policy, and Policymakers is a theoretical and hands-on practical guide to conducting qualitative research on education policy and public policy, with an emphasis on studies that involve senior participants and high-status government and non-government organisations. Building on over a decade of extensive experience in qualitative research on education policy among the most senior policymakers, this book explores and illustrates successful approaches to working with senior policymakers through examples from both the UK and Israel. Whilst policy studies are traditionally either theoretical or quantitative, this book explains the theory, methodology, and ethics of harnessing qualitative methods to the study of senior policymakers and their settings. Key topics include: Designing and planning the qualitative policy study Document analysis as a policy research tool Interviewing policymakers and observing policy Mapping qualitative policy analysis methods Writing policy reports Ethics and trust This practical guide, built upon a sound theoretical framework, will prove both inspirational and helpful to academic and professional researchers across all disciplines involving public policy.

Between the State and the Schoolhouse examines the Common Core State Standards from the initiative's promising beginnings to its disappointing outcomes. Situating the standards in the long history of state and federal efforts to shape education, the book describes a series of critical lessons that highlight the political and structural challenges of large-scale, top-down reforms. Education policy expert Tom Loveless argues that there are too many layers between the state and the classroom for a national standards approach to be effective. Specifically, he emphasizes the significant gap between states' roles in designing education policy and teachers' roles as implementers of policy. In addition, he asserts that top-down policies are unpredictable, subject to political and ideological pressures, and vulnerable to the pendulum effect as new reforms emerge in response to previous ones. One of the most ambitious education reforms of the past century, the Common Core aimed to raise student success, prepare larger numbers of students for both college and careers, and close achievement gaps. Yet, as Loveless documents, a decade later there remains a lack of significant positive impact on student learning. Between the State and the Schoolhouse marks an important contribution to the debate over the standards movement and the role of federal and state governments in education reform.

This textbook introduces graduate students in education and policy research to data and statistical methods in state-level higher education policy analysis. It also serves as a methodological guide to students, practitioners, and researchers who want a clear approach to conducting higher education policy analysis that involves the use of institutional- and state-level secondary data and quantitative methods ranging from descriptive to advanced statistical techniques. This book is unique in that it introduces readers to various types of data sources and quantitative methods utilized in policy research and in that it demonstrates how results of statistical analyses should be presented to higher education policy makers. It helps to bridge the gap between researchers, policy makers, and practitioners both within education policy and between other fields. Coverage includes identifying pertinent data sources, the creation and management of customized data sets, teaching beginning and advanced statistical methods and analyses, and the presentation of analyses for different audiences (including higher education policy makers).

When Research Matters considers the complex and crucially important relationship between education research and policy. In examining how and under what conditions research affects education policy, the book focuses on a number of critical issues: the history of the federal role in education policy; the evolving nature of educational policy research; the role of research in debates about reading, NCLB, and "out-of-field" teaching; how research affects policy by shaping public opinion, judicial rulings, and the decisions of district and school leaders; and the incentives that help explain the behavior of researchers and policymakers. "Renewed interest in the uses of social science evidence for public policy has prompted a vigorous debate about the quality and utility of education research. The essays in this volume contribute important insights into a range of complex and contested issues. Researchers, policymakers, and consumers of education scholarship need to have this book." -- Michael J. Feuer, Executive Director of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education in the National Research Council of the National Academies "The current devotion to 'scientifically based research' indicates great faith in the ability of research to influence policy. Yet the policy-research nexus has not been examined in recent years. Ironically, the messy complexities of the research-policy connection don't lend themselves to the research designs currently in most favor. Therefore, this book fills an important void. Under what circumstances and in what ways is research influential today? Can we create better incentives and support for the conduct and use of research that is both rigorous and relevant to policy? These and other questions make for fascinating reading." -- Susan Fuhrman, President, Teachers College, Columbia University "When Research Matters asks the questions that are rarely asked about the difficult road from research to policy. For the classroom educator, the unevenness of the road from research to policy makes the next leg of the journey--from policy to practice--that much more difficult. This volume gives us all a deeper understanding of the reasons research is often poorly translated into practice." -- Pascal D. Forgione Jr., Superintendent of Schools, Austin, Texas Frederick M. Hess is resident scholar and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also executive editor of Education Next.

New thinking is needed on the age-old conundrum of how to connect research and policymaking. Why does a disconnect exist between the research community, which is producing thousands of studies relevant to public policy, and the policy community, which is making thousands of decisions that would benefit from research evidence? The second edition updates community dissonance theory and provides an even stronger, more substantiated story of why research is underutilized in policymaking, and what it will take to connect researchers and policymakers. This book offers a fresh look into what policymakers and the policy process are like, as told by policymakers themselves and the researchers who study and work with them. New to the second edition: • The point of view of policymakers is infused throughout this book based on a remarkable new study of 225 state legislators with an extraordinarily high response rate in this hard-to-access population. • A new theory holds promise for guiding the study and practice of evidence-based policy by building on how policymakers say research contributes to policymaking. • A new chapter features pioneering researchers who have effectively influenced public policy by engaging policymakers in ways rewarding to both. • A new chapter proposes how an engaged university could provide culturally competent training to create a new type of scholar and scholarship. This review of state-of-the-art research on evidence-based policy is a benefit to readers who find it hard to keep abreast of a field that spans the disciplines of business, economics, education, family sciences, health services, political science, psychology, public administration, social work, sociology, and so forth. For those who study evidence-based policy, the book provides the basics of producing policy relevant research by introducing researchers to policymakers and the policy process. Strategies are provided for identifying research questions that are relevant to the societal problems that confront and confound policymakers. Researchers will have at their fingertips a breath-taking overview of classic and cutting-edge studies on the multi-disciplinary field of evidence-based policy. For instructors, the book is written in a language and style that students find engaging. A topic that many students find mundane becomes germane when they read stories of what policymakers are like, and when they learn of researcher’s tribulations and triumphs as they work to build evidence-based policy. To point students to the most important ideas, the key concepts are highlighted in text boxes. For those who desire to engage policymakers, a new chapter summarizes the breakthroughs of several researchers who have been successful at driving policy change. The book provides 12 innovative best practices drawn from the science and practice of engaging policymakers, including insights from some of the best and brightest researchers and science communicators. The book also takes on the daunting task of evaluating the effectiveness of efforts to engage policymakers around research. A theory of change identifies seven key elements that are fundamental to increasing policymaker’s use of research along with evaluation protocols and preliminary evidence on each element.

This open access book presents the major outcomes of the fourth edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 4) which was held in January 2020 and which has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The conference is part of the official calendar of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) for events that promote and sustain the development of EHEA. The conference provides a unique forum for dialogue between researchers, experts and policy makers in the field of higher education, all of which is documented in this proceedings volume. The book focuses on the following five sub-themes: - Furthering the Internationalization of Higher Education: Particular - Challenges in the EHEA - Access and Success for Every Learner in Higher Education - Advancing Learning and Teaching in the EHEA: Innovation and Links With Research - The Future of the EHEA - Principles, Challenges and Ways Forward - Bologna Process in the Global Higher Education Arena. Going Digital? While acknowledging the efforts and achievements so far at EHEA level, the Paris Ministerial Communiqué highlights the need to intensify crossdisciplinary and cross-border cooperation. One of the ways to achieve this objective is to develop more efficient peer-learning activities, involving policymakers and other stakeholders from as many member states as possible for which this book provides a platform. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decisionmakers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2020. European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities for 2020 onwards. European Higher Education Area: Challenges for a New Decade marks 21 years of Bologna Process and 10 years of EHEA and brings together an unique collection of contributions that not only reflect on all that has been achieved in these years, but more importantly, shape directions for the future. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.

Amid changing economic and social contexts, radical changes have occurred in public higher education policies over the past three decades. Public Policy and Higher Educationprovides readers with new ways to analyze these complex state policies and offers the tools to examine how policies affect students’ access and success in college. Rather than arguing for a single approach, the authors examine how policymakers and higher education administrators can work to inform and influence change within systems of higher education using research-based evidence along with consideration of political and historical values and beliefs. Special Features: Case Studies—allow readers to examine strategies used by different types of colleges to improve access and retention. Reflective Exercises—encourage readers to discuss state and campus context for policy decisions and to think about the strategies used in a state or institution. Approachable Explanations—unpack complex public policies and financial strategies for readers who seek understanding of public policy in higher education. Research-Based Recommendations—explore how policymakers, higher education administrators and faculty can work together to improve quality, diversity, and financial stewardship. This textbook is an invaluable resource for graduate students, administrators, policymakers, and researchers who seek to learn more about the crucial contexts underlying policy decisions and college access.