Educational Change and the Political Process

<p><em>Educational Change and the Political Process</em> brings together key ideas on both the system of educational policy and the policy process in the United States. It provides students with a broad, methodical understanding of educational policy. No other textbook offers as comprehensive a view of the US educational policy procedure and political systems. Section I discusses the actors and systems that create and implement policy on both the federal and the local level; Section II walks students through the policy process from idea to implementation to evaluation; and Section III delves into three major forces driving the creation of educational policies in the current era—accountability, equity, and market-driven reforms. Each chapter provides case studies, discussion questions, and classroom activities to scaffold learning, as well as a bibliography for further reading to deepen exploration of these topics. This new edition will explore recent Trump-era and post-Trump era US politics and policy changes as well as the politics of race.</p> <p>Introduction to the Second Edition; Section I: Ideals of the U.S. Educational System; 1—Understanding U.S. Ideals; 2—Equity; 3—Market-Driven Schooling; <i>Section II: The Structure of the U.S. Educational System; </i>4—Federal Education Policy; 5—Education and the Courts; 6—State Systems of Education; 7—Local School Districts and School Boards; 8—Influential Policy Actors; <i>Section III: The Policy Process; </i>9 — Problem Structuring, Agenda Setting, and Framing; 10— Power as a Political Process; 11—Policy Formation; 12—Implementation; 13—Sustainability and Scale</p>