Race to the Top is a new policy lever in the struggle for authority in educational governance among various levels of government, and it provides an opportunity to examine the state-level policymaking context. Tennessee passed comprehensive education reform legislation in an effort to win the competition. This effort was successful: the Volunteer State was one of two winning state in the first round. I conducted a two-part case study of the events surrounding the states application and the development of an educator evaluation policy as required by the legislation. Interviews with key actors in the policymaking process reveal that the legislation was not an isolated attempt to improve education, but part of a series of steps led by the governor. His proactive leadership and inclusive style were crucial factors in the legislations successful passage. The legislation established a 15 member committee of diverse backgrounds to develop policy recommendations for an annual educator evaluation system. Interviews with these committee members and an analysis of pertinent documents show the institutional challenges the committee faced and the ways in which the process was open to public input. This study presents an examination of rapid, fully supported policy change in one state, including a description of how non-traditional actors developed policy. It is a story of how democracy worked cooperation, coercion, or backroom deals in one Southern state as it tries to improve education for its youngest citizens. Implications for policy and practice are discussed as are steps for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03262012-134250 |
| Date | 10 April 2012 |
| Creators | Finch, Maida Alice |
| Contributors | Robert Crowson, Mimi Engel, Lora Cohen-Vogel, Claire Smrekar |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03262012-134250/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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