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Topic 2: Conceptual foundations of educational issues

EPA4192 | February 2009 | Benson Wong

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2 perspectives

1. Policy perspective

How is an issue translated into a set of goalsand actions to be articulated, implemented and reviewed by the government , shaping stakeholders

2. Sociological perspective

How is an issue understood, interpreted and reacted personally and collectively in the social system

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Policy – definitions

“A proposed course of action of a person, group, or government within a given environment providing obstacles and opportunities which the policy was proposed to utilize and overcome in an effort to reach a goal or realize an objective or a purpose” (Friedrich, 1963)

A relatively stable, purposive course of action, followed by an actor or set of actors in dealing with a problem or matter of concern. This statement focuses on what is actually done instead of what is only proposed or intended, and it differentiates a policy from a decision, which is essentially a specific choice among alternatives” (Anderson, J. 2000)

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Policy – steps

1. Policy demands: problems, concerns, crises, ……

2. Policy statement Formal expressions or articulations of public policy

3. Policy output The action actually taken in pursuance of policy and

statements

4. Policy outcome A policy’s societal consequences (reactions, responses)

Different stakeholders may have different impacts

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Policy – politics

Policymaking involves “politics”

Who get how, what and when

Authoritarian allocation of resources

Its features include conflicts, negotiations, bargaining, the exercise of power, threat, and compromise

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Policy – context

1. Political culture Values, attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders

toward the government, leaders, bureaucrats, officers, etc.

2. Socioeconomic conditions. E.g., Demographics (gender, age-group patterns, location,

ethnicities) Social classes (grassroots, middle-class, higher class) Level of literacy Economic features (Agrarian, business-

commercial/financial, mixed, high/info-tech) Globalization (changes) post-modernity (no definite patterns)

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Stakeholders

1. Official policy-makers Leaders, bureaucrats

2. Unofficial participantsa) Interest/pressure groups

b) Political parties

c) Research organizations/think-tanks

d) Communication/mass media

e) Individual citizens (parents, students)

f) Entrepreneurs???

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Policy formulation [1]

1. Problem identification1. What is a public problem?

2. Why does some condition or matter become a public problem?

3. How does a problem get on a governmental agenda?

4. Why do some problems not achieve agenda status?

How a problem is defined depends on how it is socially constructed

The definition of problems is often a political process

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Policy formulation [2]

2. Formulation

1. Who is involved?

2. Who participates in policy formulation?

3. How are alternatives for dealing with a problem developed?

4. Are there biases in formulating policy proposals?

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Policy adoption [1]

1. Adoption

1. How is a policy alternative adopted or enacted?

2. What requirements must be met?

3. Who are the adopters?

4. What is the content of the adopted policy?

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Policy adoption [2]

Theories of decision-making

1. The rational-comprehensive theory

1. Compares problems

2. Clarify/rank goals, values and objectives

3. Study options for problem solving

4. Costs and benefits studied

5. Option/impact compared with others

6. Choose option that achieves policy goal

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Policy adoption [3]

2. The incremental theory

Real world: policies change incrementally through comparisons between no change and small change

1. Policy proceeds through small changes

2. Policy as series of decisions

3. Small changes accepted by actors

4. Model flexible

5. Decisions: minor change

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Policy adoption [4]

3. Mixed Scanning: Fundamental decisions

Then incremental decisions

4. Public Choice Market for votes and for public policies

Basic unit: individual’s self-interest

Politicians need votes

Individuals as self-seeking actors

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Policy adoption [5]

Decision criteria Values

Political party affiliation

Public opinion

Styles of decision-making Bargaining

Persuasion

Command (the above 2 is in top-down approach)

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Policy implementation [1]

Who is involved?

What is done to enforce or apply a policy?

How does implementation help shape or determine the content of the policy?

Patterns of policy-making Rule-making (legislation)

Law enforcement

Program operations

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Policy implementation [2]

Techniques of control

1. Inspection

2. Licensing

3. Loan, subsidies, and benefits

4. Contracts

5. General expenditure

6. Taxation ……

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Policy evaluation

1. Who is the advantaged and disadvantaged by a policy?

2. What are the consequences of policy evaluation?

3. Are new problems identified?

4. Are there demands for changes or repeal of the policy?

5. Is the policy process restarted because of evaluation?

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Policy analysis [1]

1. Policy as text

Laws, articles, regulations, guidelines

2. Policy as process (cycle)

Agenda-setting policy formulation policy implementation policy evaluation policy change policy termination

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Policy analysis [2]

3. Policy as discourse

Discourses are about what can be said, and thought, but also about who can speak, when and with what authority

How is it that one particular statement appeared rather than other

The concept of discourse emphasizes the social processes that produce meaning (Ball, 1990)

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Policy analysis [3]

Practice of silencing: Authoritarian voice /version; certain voices are expressed but not heard

What is not said in schools: difficulties, dilemma, pain, desperate

Continuous interpretation and reconstruction (Popkewitz, 1981)

Policy studies, and the analysis associated with them, aim to empower humans to undertake more effective collective action to solve or reduce significant policy problems (Boyd & Plank, 1995)

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Sociological perspective

Functions of schooling in a society

1. Functionalism:

positive functions of schooling – benefit the whole society

2. Conflict theory:

negative functions of schooling – benefit only the advantaged (the rich, the privileged, the powerful) so as to maintain inequality

The society (of capitalism) is in conflict: the rich VS the poor; the powerful VS the powerless

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Socialization [1]

A process in which individuals acquire their knowledge, skills, customs, ideas, religion, and morals from their social environment shape the personalities of individuals can adjust and become members of society

Socialization goes on throughout one’s life

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Family,

Media,

Religion

SCHOOL (rules,

norms, hierarchy) Workplace

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Socialization [2]: necessary

For the society

(continuous) reproduction – schooling (in which knowledge and skills are taught) has become very important since the rise of industrial societies

Cultural preservation and development: History

For the individual

In order to be understood (language, social skills)

In order to survive (physical and social)

In order to develop one’s self (talents and experts)

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Schools: Functions

What role does a school play?1. Functionalism:

Social harmony

To enable the shared culture: value, norms and beliefs and economic activities to be maintained and developed continuously

2. Conflict theory Social conflicts, inequality

To enable the advantaged people (dominant class) to preserve their advantaged (dominant) status

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Functionalism

Who? Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Family as the primary socialization Limit children into a particular culture

Intimate relationship

School as the secondary socialization: enrich social experience Prepare students to take the role of adults, to

lead the adult

Start Instrumental relationship

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Functionalism and schooling [1]

Pre-industralized societies Since industrialization

• Relatively simple, not so differentiated

• Family’s functions: socialization, education, welfare and work, ……• Religion’s functions: culture and politics, ……

• society expanded, more complex and differentiated• human relations becoming instrumental• one need to learn how to cooperate with others• social norms (normal relationships) established• “anomie” (which is against some social norms) occurred

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Functionalism and schooling [2]

Family:

Based on feeling

Warm cushion

SCHOOL: GAP between family and workplace

To liberate the family’s dependence

To prevent ‘anomies’

Workplace

Based on mutual benefits

‘instrumental’ relationship

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Schooling: Secondary socialization

Children begin to learn how to lead a social life To obey rules and authority, be punctual, respect

others, respect authority, be responsible, etc.

To internalize more social values

To teach knowledge and skills to satisfy the economic needs of a society To enable the students to find a job in the society

in the future = to provide the skilled labors in the industrial sector

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2 basic functions of schooling

1. To coordinate human resources

Through selection and grouping (academic recognition), allocating students to different adult (economic, political, social) roles

2. To transfer traditional cultural values

What kind of cultural values?

Chinese culture: conformity, loyalty, obedience, being humble?

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Functionalism: challenges

Conflict and tension among competing groups and classes since industrialization, questioning the functionality of functionalism force and power direct individual actions

/choices/desires

Is the society functional under force and power as well as an unequal society?

Behind functionalism rationalize inequalities and exploitation?

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Theory of conflicts on schooling

Who? Karl Mark (1818-1883)

Schooling is nothing but an institution that transfers ideologies (socially accepted values and beliefs – some false consciousness) and that enables them to continue

Schooling benefits the ruling, wealthy or advantaged (capitalist) class who dominates the society

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Socialization of schooling: Conflict Theory

To make students acquire (sometimes unconsciously) some beliefs or ideas so that they can accept without questioning those who have advantaged statuses Accept the inequality between the advantaged

and the disadvantaged

To rationalize the inequalities (in wealth, income, power, and status) in the society These inequalities being structural products

necessarily exist in all capitalist states

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What rationalized ideas?

Capitalism is the best economic system Fair competition (???)

The economic inequalities are all right and inevitable “Different awards should be given to different academic

achievements. Our society values merits very much; all positions should be filled by those (the able people) who fit them”

“Competitions bring about improvements”

The success of the few and the failure of the many are rationalized as individuals’ merits or mistakes, not a fundamental problem of a social institution (i.e., school, family, government)

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Effects of schooling

Ideology transference Cooperating, and participating in the production

and reproduction activities of the capitalist societies

Continuously being exploited and marginalized socially, politically, ethnically, and economically

Continuously maintaining and rationalizing the social inequalities The disadvantaged are destined, OR

The disadvantaged strive for being the advantaged (through competition)

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