This multi-case study examines the Performance funding (PF) policies in four Midwestern states to explore how PF metrics and weights address racial diversity in higher education. Performance funding policies in Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, and Minnesota were examined using both document analysis and semi-structured interviews with state level actors…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. This is the 141st PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that was inaugurated in April 1998 and has generated a…

This study examines the role of governors in the P-16 education reform movement through their influence in the adoption of policies creating statewide P-16 councils. Network theory is used to distill three sets of hypotheses to predict how leadership influences of governors, the structure of state educational governance organizations, and…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. Inaugurated in April 1998, this is the 125th PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that has generated a…

Employing Bourdieu's notion of social field, this research conceptualizes New Jersey's alternate route to teacher certification as a contested arena, in which the interests, ideologies, and visions of different stake-holders regarding the character of public education have collided. Findings for this study are primarily based on data from the New…

South Carolina made a significant step forward in middle level education reform by enacting middle level teacher certification in 2001. This qualitative case study documents the process through which the state legislation developed, with a particular focus on how middle level teacher certification arrived and remained on the public policy agenda…

Charter schools, although a stage for potential educational reform and innovation, remain subject to federal laws regarding the education of students with disabilities. As they intersect with federal law, the variance of state charter laws and policy surrounding the provision of special education creates a challenging context for helping charters…

To determine the effect on legislative decision making of five selected influences questionnaires were sent to members of the Virginia General Assembly (139 in 1986, and 140 in 1988). A response rate of more than 50 percent was achieved. On 22 of the 26 education-related bills studied, personal feelings were the most important influence. (seven…

This study examined relative spending patterns in higher education and corrections in California during the administration of Governor Pete Wilson. Data were obtained from the California Postsecondary Education Commission and the Department of Corrections. It was found that over the last 10 years, spending for higher education decreased as a…

A study was conducted to compare the priorities of college administrators with those of strategic external constituencies regarding the activities of the Maricopa Community Colleges and Central Arizona College. The strategic constituencies for the colleges were defined as all 90 state legislators, 21 state board members and staff, and a sample of…

This report presents the results of a telephone survey conducted in 1997 and 1998 of the 50 State Higher Education Finance Officers in regard to performance budgeting and performance funding of public higher education. It was found that 21 states used some form of performance budgeting in public higher education in 1998, up from 16 in 1997, and…

Individual members of state legislatures wield the greatest influence in state level policy formation. This was one of the findings of a study that identified the power and influence context of state-level policymaking. Data were gathered from six states (Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois) using an instrument…

This document summarizes a report that analyzes the issues affecting the participation of women and minorities in science and engineering. The report makes recommendations for governors, state agencies, and state educational institutions on how such participation can be increased. The current lack of women and minorities in science and engineering…

Before there can be an understanding of politics, policy, and action in education, there must be an understanding of the value systems of policymakers. Policymakers, in their talk, in their choices of symbols and metaphors, in their choices of strategies for dealing with conflict, reveal their own needs, their role orientations, their group…

This study examined the attitudes of State Higher Education Finance Officers (SHEFOs) in regard to performance budgeting and performance funding of public higher education. A telephone survey of all 50 SHEFOs or alternate officers was conducted in June 1998, and the results were then compared to a similar survey conducted in April 1997. It was…