Higher Education Title IX Coordinators as Policy Actors: Street-Level Bureaucracy and Beyond

• In Event: Consortium of State and Regional Educational Research Associations Distinguished Paper Session 1

Abstract

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is an important area of equity and policy for higher education. This study examined how higher education Title IX administrators view themselves and act as policy actors. Data sources included interviews with 28 Title IX administrators located across the United States, as well as documents reflecting Title IX policy and administrators' organizational role. Findings indicate that Title IX administrators often engage in collaborative policy activity, avoid policy advocacy, and avoid using discretion without approval. This demonstrates disempowerment as street-level bureaucrats in the context of Title IX administration. This research contributes to the literature on federal policy implementation in higher education, and it complicates and enriches existing theories of street-level bureaucracy.

Author

• Rebecca S. Natow, Hofstra University