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The past decade saw heightened policy activism in the field of
reading at both the federal level and across virtually all 50
states. Initially sparked by disagreements about methods for
teaching children to read, the so-called "reading wars" stirred
heated debates on a variety of issues: levels and trends of reading
achievement, pedagogy, standards and assessment, and education
equity, among others. Embedded within these debates were the
political agendas of state executives and legislatures, the
interests of advocacy groups, and the ideologies of reading
professionals, which were collectively shaping state reading policy
development. Drawing primarily on interviews with 366 policy actors
from nine states, this book presents a comprehensive investigation
of the state reading policy domain employing multiple theoretical
frameworks and research methods. Using social network analysis, the
authors examined the interplay among a plethora of policy actors
embedded in reading policy networks. They explored in depth policy
actors' divergent beliefs on key reading-related issues, the causal
stories told, and the policy solutions proposed. In addition, they
examined the variety of lobbying tactics that interest groups
utilized to gain influence over the policymaking process and to
advance their policy agenda. As the most significant research
endeavor in the area of state reading policy to date, this
cross-state comparative study sheds light on the multifaceted
nature and the intricacies of the policy processes in reading, and
in education in general. The findings of this study bear important
implications for both policy actors and education professionals.
This study also makes a substantial contribution to policy research
in education by demonstrating how theoretical frameworks and
analytic methods that have not been fully utilized in education
could serve as powerful tools for exploring educational policy
processes.
The past decade saw heightened policy activism in the field of
reading at both the federal level and across virtually all 50
states. Initially sparked by disagreements about methods for
teaching children to read, the so-called "reading wars" stirred
heated debates on a variety of issues: levels and trends of reading
achievement, pedagogy, standards and assessment, and education
equity, among others. Embedded within these debates were the
political agendas of state executives and legislatures, the
interests of advocacy groups, and the ideologies of reading
professionals, which were collectively shaping state reading policy
development. Drawing primarily on interviews with 366 policy actors
from nine states, this book presents a comprehensive investigation
of the state reading policy domain employing multiple theoretical
frameworks and research methods. Using social network analysis, the
authors examined the interplay among a plethora of policy actors
embedded in reading policy networks. They explored in depth policy
actors' divergent beliefs on key reading-related issues, the causal
stories told, and the policy solutions proposed. In addition, they
examined the variety of lobbying tactics that interest groups
utilized to gain influence over the policymaking process and to
advance their policy agenda. As the most significant research
endeavor in the area of state reading policy to date, this
cross-state comparative study sheds light on the multifaceted
nature and the intricacies of the policy processes in reading, and
in education in general. The findings of this study bear important
implications for both policy actors and education professionals.
This study also makes a substantial contribution to policy research
in education by demonstrating how theoretical frameworks and
analytic methods that have not been fully utilized in education
could serve as powerful tools for exploring educational policy
processes.
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