The overall purpose of this text is to introduce beginning
researchers to the study of educational and social policy, how it
has been examined from a scholarly perspective, and the salient
issues to consider in conceptualizing and conducting policy
research. The emphasis is on "introduce," as the various policy
fields within the public sector (for example, education, energy,
health, labor) are much too diverse to include in depth in a single
volume on theoretical concepts and research methods. The focus is
not so much on the substance of policymaking as on understanding
the interplay between how policy is made and implemented and the
various conceptual approaches and methods researchers can use to
frame and conduct policy studies.
The underlying assumption is that a critique of the substantive,
theoretical, and methodological issues involved in studying policy
can help researchers conduct policy studies that are more
informative in guiding policy development and more effective in
assessing the impact of policy reforms.
*Part I acquaints readers with substantive issues and challenges
related to the study of the policy process, and includes chapters
on federalism and policymaking, and on studying policy development,
implementation, and impact.
*Part II examines different conceptual frameworks and theories for
the study of policy, with chapters on political culture and
policymaking, the punctuated-equilibrium theory and the advocacy
coalition framework, economic and organizational perspectives, and
new approaches (e.g., feminism, critical theory, postmodernism).
*Part III focuses research methods for studying policy, covering
research design, qualitative methods, multilevel methods for policy
research, and growth modeling methods for examining policy change.
*Part IV compares the diversity of approaches used by policy
scholars with respect to their strengths and weaknesses, and
presents a number of issues for further consideration in conducting
policy research.
This introduction to theories and methods of conducting policy
research is intended to give prospective researchers an
appreciation of the relationship among policy problems, empirical
methods, and practice, and to contribute to building their skills
in conceptualizing and conducting policy research that answers
important questions. The text includes examples of studies to
illustrate the diversity of methodological techniques, and
discusses issues related to the design and conduct of original
educational policy studies.
"Studying Educational and Social Policy: Theoretical Concepts and
Research Methods" is designed primarily for graduate courses in
educational policy and educational research and is appropriate as
well for research methodology courses in other disciplines,
including statistics and research methodology in the social
sciences, organizational studies, public policy, and political
science
General
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