Removing policy from its pedestal: some theoretical framings and practical possibilities

In educational policy research, the orientation has shifted from a macro focus on central authorities to incorporating a micro focus on the multiple (often contradictory) policy practices within individual institutions. However, this new focus has not gone uncontested, and debate has revolved around...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational review (Birmingham) 2007-08, Vol.59 (3), p.285-298
Main Author: Vidovich, Lesley
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agency
Causal Models
Conceptualization
Dualism
Dynamics
Education policy
Education systems
Educational Policy
Educational Research
Educational theories
Educational theory
Modernism
Network analysis
Policy analysis
Policy networks
Policy research
Politics of Education
Schools
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Summary:In educational policy research, the orientation has shifted from a macro focus on central authorities to incorporating a micro focus on the multiple (often contradictory) policy practices within individual institutions. However, this new focus has not gone uncontested, and debate has revolved around the relevance of modernist conceptualizations of power (suggesting constraints by macro authorities) against post-modernist/post-structuralist conceptualizations (suggesting agency for micro-level actors). This paper offers some theoretical framings and practical possibilities for moving beyond dualisms of macro-micro and modernist-post-modernist/post-structuralist perspectives by applying a hybridized model which can simultaneously draw on the strengths of different approaches. Practical suggestions for critical interrogation of policy processes are also presented. Finally, the paper critiques policy network theory, another dynamic hybrid approach, which can potentially link the 'bigger picture' of global/national policy contexts to the 'smaller pictures' of policy practices within schools, in the interests of democratizing education.
ISSN:0013-1911
1465-3397
DOI:10.1080/00131910701427231