Entrepreneurship, Federalism, and Chicago: Setting the Computer Science Agenda at the Local and National Levels

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: The Role of Philanthropy and Capitalism in Educational Policy

Abstract

This study examines how policy entrepreneurs operating in and around the local and national levels of government and the education system were successful in driving the rapid expansion of computer science education (CS). We focus specifically on events in Chicago and describe how entrepreneurs there leveraged the capacity and license to act afforded by national players (i.e., the federal government and advocacy organizations) to raise the agenda status of CS. Moreover, we provide examples of the ways in which local efforts influenced agenda setting at the national level. Our analysis uses data from interviews with prominent subsystem actors to illustrate how interactions and levels of influence between officials and policy entrepreneurs at different levels are multidirectional and dynamic.

Authors

• Mark Johnson, The Learning Partnership

• John Wachen, The Learning Partnership

• Steven McGee, The Learning Partnership