The overarching research problem for this study was the need to improve
upon rational models of policy analysis and delivery, to suit complex postmodern
implementation environments. A theoretical model suited to implementing and
evaluating major education reform initiatives was devised. Called the 'Multiple Discourse Model', it was grounded in systems theory, containing elements
reminiscent of social systems, organisational and structural functionalist research,
especially that of Hoy and Miskel (1982)1. However the model was also designed
to incorporate a parallel naturalistic analysis reminiscent of postmodern critical
pragmatic approaches, such as those explored by Cherryholmes (1994)2. Over a
period of five years, this model was developed through an evaluation of the
implementation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) in the Australian Capital Territory government secondary schools
sector.
The distinguishing feature of the study's methodology was its multiperspective
analysis, an approach suggested by Mclaughlin (1987)3 to take account
of the differing communities of discourse which exist in a reformist policy
implementation environment.
To operationalise the research problem, dimensions of policy effectiveness
were articulated. These were addressed through a comprehensive set of research
indicators, extracted from the AEP's national policy goals and the local strategic and
operational plans. Data aimed at judging the effectiveness of implementation were
collected from multiple sources using multiple research instruments. These data
were analysed in three stages using a purpose-designed computer program which
could cross-reference between the four interacting dimensions of research
indicators, research instruments, data sources, and potential variables modifying
policy/program outcomes.
It was found that this model produced clear conclusions about the
effectiveness of AEP implementation in the delimited sector, within the framework
of the AEP's own policy assumptions. The model also provided insights into critical
issues which are generalisable to the national context, such as the power of cultural
hegemony and the socio-political predicament of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander dispossession. As a methodology, the model was found to have a number
of technical advantages, including its capacity for focussing on selected areas of the
implementation environment, its provision of access to multiple levels of detail
amongst data and its possession of mechanisms for monitoring its own internal
validity.
The evaluation case study, used as the vehicle for the Multiple Discourse
Model's development, demonstrated that best-practice administration was in place
which enhanced short and medium-term policy/program outcomes. However, the
study's findings also suggested that a fundamental disjuncture existed between the
AEP's policy/administration paradigm and the conflicting assumptions of the primary
target communities, reinforcing the findings of Sykes (1986)4. The research results
suggested that despite measurable successful inputs, the planned long-term
outcomes of the AEP will not necessarily be achieved. No significant administrative
structures or actions were apparent which could resolve this lack of synchrony at the
interface between government delivery systems and 'grass roots' Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander community values. This raised doubts about whether any
systems approach, however well refined, could be socially useful not only for
evaluation, but also as a basis for reform policy and public administration in a
postmodern pluralist democratic setting. The evaluation was therefore used as a
locus for theoretical reflection as well.
A new policy paradigm is suggested, based on a power-sharing 'theory of
community', more in keeping with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples'
aspirations for self determination and more likely to alleviate the so far unresolved
destructive effects of cultural and political dispossession.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219061 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Joliffe, Edward Keith, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Edward Keith Joliffe |
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