From Philanthropists to Parents: Interest Groups in the Battles for and Against Education Reform

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This panel looks at the dynamics of interest group behavior in education reform policymaking. Since the 1980s, as accountability and choice-oriented policies have been increasingly adopted by states and promoted by the federal government, interest groups have mobilized for and against such policies. The papers on this panel examine these groups’ policymaking advocacy. Across the four papers, the policymaking activities of Teach For America corps members, foundations, PIE network groups, civil rights groups, teachers’ unions and parents will be addressed. The papers will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to provide a holistic look at the advocacy of interest groups active both for and against education reform policymaking.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 1: Governance, Finance, and Intergovernmental Relations

Chair

• Carlos Lastra-Anadon

Papers

• Cultivating New Education Reform Leaders: The Effect of Teach For America on Education Reform Through Policy Feedback - Leslie Finger, Harvard University; Carlos Lastra-Anadon

• Parental Organizing to Shape Education Policy: The Case of Save Our Schools NJ - Julia Sass Rubin, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway

• Testing Race: Civil Rights Groups, Teachers Unions, and the Politics of the Contemporary Education Reform Movement - Patrick James McGuinn, Drew University

• Philanthropic Foundations' Sponsorship of Policy Networks: The Case of Teacher Quality, 2000–2014 - Sarah Reckhow, Michigan State University; Megan Elizabeth Tompkins-Stange, University of Michigan

Discussant

• Janelle T. Scott, University of California - Berkeley