Student-Based Budgeting as a Mechanism for Promoting Democratic Decision Making: Testing the Theory of Action

• In Event: Educational Equity and Local Politics

Abstract

This paper uses micropolitical perspectives to analyze the ability of a prominent but under-studied reform, student based budgeting (SBB), to substantially engage teachers and parents in decision-making processes at the school level. We test this particular strand of SBB’s theory of action on an in-depth study of a “critical case” of schools in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) that received an influx of funds under SBB and were directed to engage teachers and parents in decision-making processes. Our findings suggest that SBB, as implemented in PGCPS, is a weak tool for democratizing decision-making and that changes to structural and normative conditions at schools may also be necessary in order to engender meaningful teacher and parent involvement.

Authors

• Kristin Sinclair, University of Maryland - College Park

• Betty Malen, University of Maryland