Policy Network Convergence and Innovation Among Education Advocacy Organizations: An Analysis of the PIE Network

• In Event: 56.041 - Theories and Analysis in Relational Governance: Shaping Policy Through Research, Ideas, and Networks

Abstract

A central criticism of democratic governance in education is that bureaucratic structures stifle policy innovation (Chubb & Moe, 1990; McShane & Hess, 2015). The latter critique has gained substantial traction in recent years as groups from across the political spectrum have grown impatient with persistent inequities that pervade the education system. As a result, a variety of public and private organizations have formed networks through which new policy ideas can be generated and spread (Debray, Scott, Lubienski, & Jabbar, 2014; Mehta & Teles, 2012; Reckhow, 2010; Scott & Jabbar, 2014). In the process, scholars have sought to analyze the policy discourses that circulate in these networks, and examine how they influence policymaking processes at the state and federal levels. A central finding is that, despite the stated spirit of innovation, policy preferences within these networks tend to converge over time (Ferrare & Reynolds, In Press; Reckhow & Snyder, 2014). More recent work has begun to identify the political, social, and information flow processes through which these forms of policy convergence take shape (Ferrare & Setari, 2016; Reckhow, Galey, & Ferrare, 2016; Snyder & Reckhow, 2016). The following paper builds on this area of research by investigating the political, legal, and evidentiary conditions within states that give rise to policy convergence and innovation among advocacy organizations participating in the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network. In particular, the paper addresses the following questions: 1. Do the policy proposals circulating through the PIE Network reflect processes of convergence or innovation? 2. To what extent do political, legal, and evidentiary conditions shape these processes of convergence and innovation? 3. Do new entrants to the PIE Network diversify or homogenize the policy discourses circulating through the network?

The analysis draws upon data collected from the n=70 member organizations that currently (July 2016) constitute the PIE Network. The PIE Network connects state-level education reform organizations to partnering research centers and national advocacy organizations. The member organizations are spread across 34 states and the District of Columbia, and advocate on behalf of a wide range of policy problems and solutions at the K-12 level. Data collection consisted of reports, briefs, and press releases gathered from member websites. These documents were then concept coded (Saldana, 2013) to create a two-mode member-by-policy solution matrix that served as the basis for identifying patterns of policy convergence and innovation (RQ1 & RQ3). Examples of policy solutions included: merit pay for teachers, expanding pre-K access, and assessment/standards alignment. Additional data collection consisted of state-level attributes related to partisan make-up of legislative and executive bodies, laws pertaining to educational reform, and the evidentiary basis for specific policy proposals in each state. These attributes where used to create additional matrices to perform QAP regression analysis (Krackhardt, 1988) of policy convergence and innovation (RQ2). Preliminary results point to the important role that state contexts play in shaping information flow through education policy networks, and thus offer ways to consider how public institutions can influence policy advocacy among private organizations.

Authors

• Joseph J. Ferrare, University of Kentucky

• Sarah Hilary Galey, Michigan State University

• Laura Janel Carter-Stone, University of Kentucky

• Stephanie Smith, University of Kentucky