The business of education reform: An analysis of corporate involvement in education reform movements in Kentucky

详细信息   

• 作者：Rigdon ; Mark E
• 学历：Doctor
• 年：1995
• 关键词：Social sciences ; Education
• 导师：Witte,John F
• 毕业院校：The University of Wisconsin
• 专业：Political science;School administration;Business community
• CBH：9528662
• Country：USA
• 语种：English
• FileSize：16155053
• Pages：367

文摘

Business interests around the country are supporting a diverse array of education reform initiatives ranging from state-centered systemic reform initiatives to market-based educational choice programs. Existing economic and organizational models of business firm behavior cannot,by themselves,adequately explain the distribution of business support for these competing approaches to education reform. In this dissertation,case studies of business support for systemic reforms in Kentucky,decentralization reforms in Chicago,and market-based voucher reforms in Milwaukee were conducted to examine the influence that factors identified in policy process literature including policy legacies,policy networks,and the structure of business/government relations exercise on the formation of business firms policy positions. Findings from these case studies demonstrate several things. First,they reveal that business interests have played critical roles in education reform movements that have dramatically affected the way that some public schools are operated and organized. Second,they indicate that business positions on education policy issues tend to evolve in predictable patterns over time. Third,they show that the rate of change in business positions on education reform issues is affected by the degree to which policy networks compete against one another for business support. Finally,the case studies show that the scope of policy change advocated by business interests is heavily influenced by the structure and dynamics of business/government relations. These findings have significant implications for business group scholars and interest group theories. They suggest that existing models of business firm behavior need to be modified to recognize that business firms' policy positions are influenced by economic,organizational,and external influences and that the weights attached to these factors shift as business firms' organizational capacity regarding education issues increases.