“It’s the Mayor’s Show”: Public Engagement in Education Policy in Washington, D.C.

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Who Governs Education? Power, Law, and Institutional Change Across Systems

Abstract

Advocates and scholars posit that mayoral control of education can improve public school systems by giving mayors broad power to make necessary policy changes for school improvement. While studies of mayoral control have centered on the reform’s outcomes, fewer studies have investigated the implications of this reform for public engagement in education decision-making processes. This paper presents findings from a larger study of public engagement in local education policy to investigate how mayoral control facilitates or constrains broad participation in policy discussions. Interviews with 210 street-level policy actors reveal how this governance reform challenges democratic decision-making processes. In doing so, this paper offers insights into the consequences of centralized power for public engagement in education.

Authors

• Alisha Butler, Wesleyan University

• Kristin Sinclair, Georgetown University

• Kaden Miller, Wesleyan University