THE PLURALITY OF FACTORS INFLUENCING POLICYMAKINC: SCHOOL REFORM LEGISLATION IN THE AMERICAN STATES, 1982–84 |
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| Authors: | Doh C Shinn Jack R Van Der Slik |
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| Institution: | DOH C. SHINN i s Professor of Political Studies and Research Associate in the Illinois Legislative Studies Center at Sangamon State University. His current research examines the development of democratic values in the Republic of Korea. His articles appear in Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Methodology, Policy Studies Journal, Comparative Political Studies;, and Social Indicators Research. JACK R. VAN DER SLlK is Director of the Illinois Legislative Studies Center at Sangamon State University. Currently he is studying gender-related differences in the behavior of Illinois legislators. He is coauthor of Lawmaking in Illinois : Legislative Politics, People and Processes;(Springfield: Office of Public Affairs Communication, Sangamon State University, 1986) and articles in Polity, State Government, American Politics Quarterly, American Journal of Political Science, Political Science Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and Social Science Quarterly. |
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| Abstract: | This paper attempts to explore recent efforts of American state legislatures to improve the quality of public schools. Which state legislatures have passed school reform legislation? At what aspects of public education is this reform legislation aimed? Are there significant variations across states in such reform legislation? What has contributed most to the passage of such legislation? Is it the socioeconomic characteristics of individual states or the structural and procedural characteristics of their legislative branch that better explain school reform legislation? Analysis of data from the 50 states reveals greater variation in legislative results that reform public schools. The regional locus of most reform was the south. Most importantly, school reform legislation was found to be influenced by the interaction of a multitude of divergent forces. This finding suggests that researchers interested in the determinants of legislative action must move beyond analysis of whether economic or political forces shape legislative outcomes to inquire how economic, political and other forces interact when a given reform effort reaches the legislative halls of the states. |
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