This supplemental text for educational policy, administration, and program evaluation courses provides a framework for examining the following crucial questions. To what extent have state and federal initiated policies actually been implemented during the past 25 years? and To what degree does implementation lead to effectiveness? At a time when critical understanding of the issues is essential for good decision making, this volume provides a valuable tool for teachers, students, and makers of educational policy.

Provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive review of contemporary research in education policy implementation. A companion to Allan R. Odden’s Education Policy Implementation, also published by SUNY Press, this book presents original work by a new generation of scholars contributing to education policy implementation research. The contributors define education policy implementation as the product of the interaction among particular policies, people, and places. Their analyses of previous generations of implementation research reveal that contemporary findings not only build directly on lessons learned from the past, but also seek to deepen past findings. These contemporary researchers also break from the past by seeking a more nuanced, contingent, and rigorous theory-based explication of how implementation unfolds. They argue that researchers and practitioners can help improve education policy implementation by not asking simply what works, but rather focusing their attention on what works, for whom, where, when, and why. Meredith I. Honig is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Washington at Seattle.

Understanding the Power and Politics of Public Education researches the history and trends of educating the populace in the United States. Demographic changes and socio-economic diversity have altered the needs for traditional approaches. Policy makers are implored to become familiar with proven educational research to implement policies that service the needs of all youth. Public schools now enroll more minority students than ever before. Diverse languages, cultures and experiences call for pedagogy to meet the needs and educational success for new citizens. Teacher training programs in colleges and universities – along with new curricula - are in need of revision to promote educational success of new generations. Understanding the role of experiential background and its influence on educational success, and social mobility is necessary for a healthy society and democracy. This book examines statistical studies showing the impact of environmental issues on cognitive development and illustrates the educational outcome and effects of poverty through documented research in areas of health care, nutrition, pollution, community and family experiences. It also explores the role of family socio-economic status and compares the educational readiness of the more and less affluent.

The volume will provide an examination of issues around how policy for inclusive education can be implemented in practice. Key policy issues for inclusive education are looked at along with recommendations to tackle these. Conclusions will focus on lessons learnt surrounding the implementation of policy and bridging the policy-practice gap.

Since 1994, there have been major attempts to change educational policy in order to meet the economic demands of South Africa and equalize education for all. Implementation of this policy is the big challenge. Through critical commentary and analysis, this book brings into focus the various policy documents that have been produced since the early 1990s. It looks at the history of education policy, why coherent policy is necessary, how it should be implemented and, most critical of all, it discusses the importance of education management and delivery.

This volume offers a comprehensive discussion of implementation analysis in higher education and an extensive review of relevant recent literature. Coverage analyzes the effective and specific complexities of the implementation of higher education policies in several countries, including: Australia, Austria, Finland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy: Adaptable Policy for Teachers and School Leaders provides an extensive set of free-to-use policies for building better schools. The policies included in this book cover a broad range of popular topics for schools that are not readily accessible, and each policy is built on theory, driven by research, and created by experts. Each policy is based on substantial evidence, and this is ensured through the inclusion of contributors who are active and highly reputable in their respective field. Most schools are obliged to write and maintain policy, and not all school leaders have the required skills, time, or expertise to do this effectively. Building Better Schools with Evidence-based Policy: Adaptable Policy for Teachers and School Leaders is a time-saving resource for schools. It aims to address the reported research-to-practice gap in education by delivering accessible evidence-based practice in a ready-to-use adaptable format. All policies within this book are designed to be adapted and tailored to the unique diversity and needs of each school as reflected by the context and the people that make up the school community. This book is relevant to every person who works in a school – worldwide. Users of this book can rest assured that each policy has been carefully formulated from the current understandings of best practice. This is a practical innovation and an example of how schools can use research evidence in their day-to-day practices. "The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license."