Toward a Holistic Examination of Educational Policy: Perspectives on Context and Scale

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Sesion 4

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Amidst rising inequality, scholars have posited the importance of examining educational policy across various scales of influence to surface the relationship between inequitable power structures and ground-level practice. This symposium contributes to theoretical and methodological work on multi-scalar research by providing unique perspectives on context and scale, with attention to the challenges and potential for equitable educational change. The papers (1) introduce and describe methods of multi-scalar policy research; (2) empirically examine three policy issues across different contexts and scales of influence; (3) highlight the interplay between macro- and micro-level structures and processes that shape education policy and practice; and (4) surface questions and challenges for future educational policy research.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Division L - Section 7: Social Context and Structural Inequalities

Chair

• Erica Owyang Turner, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Papers

• Implementing the Federal Mandate for Fiscal Transparency: Examining Wisconsin's Sensemaking Across Multiple Levels of Governance - Lena Batt, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• From Restorative Justice to Social-Emotional Learning: Competing Discourses of Care in School Discipline Reform - Abigail J Beneke, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Directing Blame: Examining Small- and Large-Scale Explanations for a District Dissolution Debate - Caitlin Ione Brecklin, University of North Dakota