Studying Educational and Social Policy

The purpose of this textbook is to introduce beginning researchers to the study of policy making, how it has been examined from a scholarly perspective, and the salient issues to consider in conceptualizing and conducting policy research.

Ronald H. Heck

Contents: Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Part I: An Overview of the Policy Process. An Introduction to Policymaking and Its Study. Federalism and Policymaking. Studying Policy Development, Implementation, and Impact. Part II: Conceptual Frameworks and Theories. Political Culture and Policymaking. Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory and the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Economic and Organizational Perspectives. Going Against the Grain: New Approaches. Part III: Policy Research Methods. An Overview of Method in Policy Research. Qualitative Methods in Policy Research. Multilevel Methods for Conducting Policy Research. Growth Modeling Methods for Examining Policy Change. Part IV: Epilogue. Further Thoughts. Appendix.