35.077-5 - Understanding Education Politics and Policy Networks With Social Network Analysis

• In Event: 35.077 - MTCC Roundtable Session 13

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Policy networks have become increasingly important to educational policymaking, as creating and implementing policy depends on a nebulous array of individuals, non-system actors, non-governmental organizations, philanthropies, and corporations. Though social network analysis (SNA) has not often been used to study policy networks, it allows researchers to visualize coalitions of organizations advocating for particular policies, organizations with shared funders or shared policy positions, and the attributes that predict those commonalities. This symposium features papers applying the tools of SNA to describe and predict the policy networks involved in contentious issues in the current political climate, such as how education policy moves forward amidst the election of Donald Trump in the areas of ESSA, IDEA, restorative justice, and the Common Core.

Sub Unit

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

Chair

• Emily Hodge, Montclair State University

Papers

• Policy Coalitions of the Every Student Succeeds Act at 2016–2018 Congressional Hearings: A Discourse Network Analysis - Yinying Wang, Georgia State University

• Understanding Advocacy Coalitions in Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Reauthorization - Laura E. Bray, The Pennsylvania State University; Joshua Childs, The University of Texas at Austin; Thomas Norris; Carlos Alvis-Ruiz

• Making the Case for Restorative Justice: A Network Analysis of School Discipline Reform Discourse - Rachel Garver, Montclair State University

• Testing State Attributes' Relationship With State Policy Networks of Curricular Resources - Serena Jean Salloum, Ball State University; Emily Hodge, Montclair State University; Susanna Latham Benko, Ball State University

Discussant

• Kara S. Finnigan, University of Rochester