ERIC Number: EJ1125230
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0268-0939
EISSN: N/A
Neo-Democracy in Educational Policy-Making: A Critical Case Study of Neoliberal Reform in Massachusetts
Piazza, Peter
Journal of Education Policy, v32 n2 p211-233 2017
This paper explores changes to the educational policy-making arena through case study analysis of a Massachusetts law passed in 2012 that limits seniority-based job protections for public K-12 teachers. I use data from interviews with policy stakeholders, observations of public meetings, and policy artifacts to explore struggles over democratic engagement in what unfolded as a highly undemocratic policy development process. Using the policy cycle framework, I explore the ways that political pressure and political discourses shaped the policy development process through various contexts of political struggle. Ultimately, I argue that the case is indicative of what I am calling "neo-democratic" decision-making, in which high-level interest group conflict leads to narrow forms of democratic engagement.
Descriptors: Educational Policy, Neoliberalism, Educational Change, Case Studies, State Legislation, Public School Teachers, Job Security, Elementary Secondary Education, Interviews, Stakeholders, Observation, Democracy, Policy Formation, Politics of Education, Conflict, Unions, Nonprofit Organizations
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A