In this study, we employ discourse analysis of US gubernatorial political advertisements to analyze the discursive struggles over the purposes of public schools. The advertisements are analyzed to demonstrate how rhetoric works to shape consent for dominant, human capital views regarding schooling's purposes, as well as to communicate alternative…

In this article, Kelley and Mead consider changes in the policymaking process in Wisconsin before the election of Governor Walker, in the early years following his election, and in the months preceding passage of the 2015-17 biennial budget. Kelley and Mead argue that in Wisconsin, serious and significant attacks to public education motivated by…

State governors have the potential to impact their states' public higher education systems in a variety of very significant ways. The findings for the 33 governors included in this study suggest a great deal of variation in the extent of their authority and influence. Governors' composite ratings of formal authority and informal influence are…

The purpose of the survey was to validate a list of seven goals for a vocational education professional development system. Objectives were to ascertain perceptions of the degree of importance, extent of achievement, and responsibilities for accomplishing the goals. The goals are: staff educational needs, staff supply and demand, efficiency of…

This study was conducted in 1979-80 to obtain baseline opinions of members of the Wisconsin Legislature about vocational education. Sixty-six of the 132 legislators responded to 84 questions regarding the need for, financing of, quality of, and methods of delivering secondary and postsecondary vocational education in the state. The responses were…

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…

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 impact of state budget cuts on public colleges and universities in six states, focusing on the effects of such cuts on institutional priorities and plans, tuition and fees, and educational quality. Five state higher education finance officers, 12 state college or university system finance officers, and 98 college or…