Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 LOOKING AT POLICIES: POLICY INSTRUMENTS AND COST EFFECTIVENESS

2. Focus Questions • How can leaders anticipate what kind of politics will develop around a new policy • How can they select the best instrument for achieving a policy goal? • How can they determine the true costs of a policy?

3. LEARNING TO ANALYZE PUBLIC POLICIES • This chapter presents three lenses through which school leaders can critically examine policies, both their own and others’. • Although these analytical approaches are different, they are complementary. Each brings a slightly different aspect of policy structure into focus. • Together they constitute a powerful instrument for closely examining education policies. • Unlike the other chapters, the exercises in this one are provided after each major section to permit readers to apply each framework to concrete examples immediately.

4. LOWI’S TECHINQUES OF CONTROL In a 1964 article, Theodore Lowi advanced the thesis that three basic types of policies exist--distributive, regulatory, and redistributive--and that each generates a distinctive political arena. Thirty years later, he and Benjamin Ginsberg slightly refined the original thesis, calling the policy types techniques of control and renaming distributive policy, promotional policy. This discussion draws ideas from both the 1964 writings but retains the 1964 terminology because it is widely used.

5. Distributive Policies Distributive Defined. Distributive policies bestow gifts on citizens; these gifts may be goods services, or special privileges. Although the idea of a government giving gifts may seem strange to some, this practice is actually an old one. In ancient times kings used gifts to consolidate the loyalty of their followers and build their power. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, synonyms for king include ring-giver and dispenser of treasure. Although contemporary governments do not bestow jewelry on their citizens, they have other ways to distribute wealth and privileges. Lowi and Ginsberg distinguish three: (1) subsidies, (2) contracts, and (3) nonregulatory licenses.

6. Subsidies. A subsidy may consist of “cash, goods, services, or land”. For example, both the federal and state governments subsidize the building and repair of roads. A county government that needs to fill the potholes in some of its roads usually applies to a higher level of government for a subsidy. If the application succeeds, county officials are overjoyed. They bring to county residents about this proof of their effectiveness and even erect signs construction sites, proclaming now much money they received for the project.

7. Contracts. Contracts are another form of distributive policy. Under a contract a private firm agrees to provide a product or service to the government in exchange for a specific amount of money. Lowi and Ginsberg argue that many policies commonly called privatization are actually forms of government contracting. Current proposals to privatize education functions such as transport, portation, custodial services, and even management fall into this category. Although the businesses that enter into contracts with school districts must perform work in exchange for their gift, nonetheless the school district is bestowing upon them a privilege with a substantial cash value attached.

8. Nonregulatory Licensing. "A license is a privilege granted by government agencies to something that it otherwise considers to be illegal. " Licenses can be obtained by paying a fee without having to meet many requirements. For example, in most states people who have reached a certain age can obtain a hunting license with little difficulty. All licenses allow license holder to perform activities for which they could otherwise be charged with a legal violation. Through them the government distributes privileges that those who do not hold licenses lack. Currently, nonregulatory licenses are rarely used in education.

9. Distribution as Control.In ancient times chieftains bestowed jewelry and land upon their followers to keep them loyal, but they usually did not seek to control their behavior in other ways. “Today, of course, governments have broad public purposes in mind when they use distributive policies. They use them to influence behavior.” Figure 9.1 lists some typical distributive policies used in education; this list suggests the many ways that distributive policies can shape behavior.

10. Figure 9.1 Examples of distributive policies in education. • Subsidies Many professional development programs State subsidies for school transportation State programs for upgrading computer technology in schools State programs supporting capital outlay School lunch and milk program State or federal block grants Flat grants as part of school funding Some foundation formulas used to allocate state funds to districts • Contracts State or district contracts with textbook companies State or district contracts with tasting companies Contracting out transportation, custodial, or cafeteria services Contracts hr designing and constructing school facilities • Nanregulatory licenses Parking permits issued to students Parking permits issued to staff Library cards issued to community users of a school library

11. Distributive Politics. A return to the metaphor of the ancient king will clarify the nature of the political arena generated by distributive politics. Rulers of long ago needed the support of their vassals in battle; they also wished to discount them from revolting. Distributing gifts was an excellent way to achieve the goals. As long as a ruler was both generous and fair, his followers were likely remain uninterested in challenging his power. Wise distribution practices encourage followers to focus on nurturing their relationship with the king, not paying attention to the other followers. Among themselves, followers tended to practice mutual noninterference. The wise distribution of gifts also made inciting a rebellion difficult for the occasional malcontent because contented followers usually calculated their probable gain from joining a rebellion and decided the costs would outweigh the benefits.

12. Of course, rulers did not always distribute gifts wisely. In that case, their gift-giving policy became redistributive rather than distributive. As we shall see, redistributive politics generates a different political game. In contemporary U.S. politics, distributive policies create a political arena similar to that of the wise king. When the government is distributing "gifts"-such as grants for remedial education or school transportation money-potential recipients focus their attention on the relevant government agency, largely ignoring each other. If the agency is skillful in its distributions, the political arena is stable and conflicts are rare. Of course, skillful distribution requires constant concern for "equality, consistency, impartiality, uniformity, precedent, and moderation "

13. Regulatory Policies • Regulatory Defined.Regulatory policies are formalized rules expressed in general terms and applied to large groups of people. They either reduce or expand the alternatives available to those regulated. • Rules imply enforcement by government and penalties for those who break them. Although regulatory policies appeared early in history, Lowi and Ginsberg argue that not until the nineteenth century did governments rely heavily upon them. • The reason clear: Until recently, government’s ability to enforce rules was limited. The communication and information revolutions have changed this, however.

14. Educators often feel that they are swimming through a sea of regulations. As Figure 9.2 suggests, they have good reason to feel that way. • From the day that they enter a teacher education program that leads to a regulatory license, professional educators deal with government regulations.

15. Regulatory licenses • Teacher certification • Administrator certification • Laws, rules, regulations, and guidelines • Graduation requirements • State or district curriculum frameworks • State or district textbook adoptions • State or district rules regarding school day, week, and year • Dress codes • Fire and safety codes • Compulsory attendance requirements • School discipline codes • Federal or state grants with detailed guidelines • Required criminal record checks • Prescribed teacher evaluation procedures • Some foundation formulas used to allocate state I funds to districts Figure 9.2 Examples of regulatory policies in education.

16. Regulatory policies. Regulatory policies create a political arena different from that generated by distributive ones. Several social groups with conflicting interests are usually concerned about regulatory policies. • For example, if a state legislature is proposing to increase the length of the school year, several groups will be interested in this legislation. Teacher and administrator groups will be concerned about the possibility that their members will be expected to work more days without a commensurate pay increase. • School board groups will fear that the longer school year will generate additional expenses, which will fall on them rather than on the state. • Some business groups will favor the legislation as a way to raise standards and possibly reduce their on-the-job training requirements. • The tourist industry, however, will oppose the bill because it depends upon the cheap summer labor of young people.

17. Parent groups will probably be split with some favoring more schooling (and supervised care) for their children and others concerned about lost opportunities for family trips and camping experiences. • No single regulatory policy will please all these groups. In such an arena the political actors pay a great deal of attention to each other, both competing and seeking to find allies. • This arena is unstable and filed with conflict. Coalitions form quickly and fall apart quickly; participants bargain and negotiate. These conflicts, however, are largely nonideological with most participants willing to concede points in order to make a deal.

18. Redistributive Policies • Redistributive Defined. A redistributive policy is one that shifts resources or power from one social group to another. By doing so, the government "seek[s] to control conduct... indirectly by altering the conditions of conduct or manipulating the environment" . The policy goal may be economic, such as shifting income to the middle class in order to stimulate consumer bucking. It may also be social or political, such as providing a modest income to the unemployed in order to keep social unrest from becoming a problems.

19. Types of Redistributive Policies. Redistributive policies fall into two broad categories: those that shift economic resources and those that shift power. The government usually shifts material resources by manipulating taxation or the monetary system. • A good example of such a policy is Social Security which is not a form of insurance or old-age annuity but rather a redistribution of income through taxation. The federal government deducts a special tax from the paychecks of most U.S. workers and channels this money to Social Security to pay benefits to the elderly, die disabled, and some children. • Thus, Social Security taxes "redistribute wealth from higher to lower income people and from . . . workers to. . . retirees" . • Redistributive policies may also shift power, usually by granting new rights to a large social group.

20. Redistributive policies are often used in education. Figure 9.3 lists major re-distributive policies of the past and presents • Affirmative action programs • Desegregation • Education for All Handicapped Children Act • Privatization of school management • Privatization of teaching special subjects • School finance systems based on power equalizing • School finance systems baked on full state funding • Site-based management • Title I (remedial programs for the poor) • Title IX (gender equity) . • Vouchers Figure 9.3 Examples of redistributive policies in education.

21. Redistributive Politics. Redistributive policies are usually controversial and "cut closer than any others along class lines"; therefore, they generate a political arena marked by conflict. • Precisely because of this conflict, the groups involved-usually large associations-form two stable coalitions and face off against each other. • They are unlikely to negotiate or "cut deals" because each is convinced that it alone is right. The altitudes and discourse of the participants ' in this arena are deeply ideological. In a redistributive political arena, the government often plays the role of mediator and umpire.

22. Do Lowi's Categories Overlap? • When one tries to apply Lowi's categories to specific policies, one often feels that they overlap. For example, what seems at first to be a purely distributive policy, such as the school lunch and milk program, reveals affects of regulation and redistribution when thoughtfully analyzed. • The rules controlling lunch content have the effect of regulating the cafeteria staff’s behavior. Also, providing subsidized lunches to schoolchildren redistributes public money to farmers; indeed, this was one of the original purposes of the policy. • Lowi anticipates this criticism, arguing that these categories should be understood as describing the short term, rather than the long. Because most citizens and politicians think and act in the short term, the categories describe short-term perceptions of policies. In the long term, all policies are both regulatory and redistributive.

23. Using Lowi's Categories in School Leaderships • Anticipating Political Situations • Managing Policy Change • Planning Influence Strategies

24. 1. Exercises on the techniques of control • 1.1 Identify each of the following policies as distributive, regulatory, or redistributive. • a, A federal preschool program for poor children. • b, A school board policy detailing the procedure for expelling students. • c, A legal requirement that minority teachers be hired to staff an inner-city dropout prevention program.

25. d, A bill to require all children in grades K-6 to study the dangers of drugs. • e, A law requiring the development of state content standards in all major subjects, grades K-12. • f, A bill to require a certification procedure for teachers’ aides. • g, A state program that gives high schools $100 for each student enrolled in driver’s education. • h, A state law that grants school districts funds to provide a mentoring program for first-year teachers.

26. i, A federal court decision requiring girls’ athletic programs to be funded equally with boys’ athletic programs. • j, A school board’s plan to contract with an educational management company to operate five schools in the district. • 1.2 For policies a, d, f, and h, describe the political arena that each policy will probably generate. Identify probable supporters and opponents as well as the nature of the conflicts that will ensure.

27. 1.3 For policies c, e, g, and j, decide whether you support or oppose each policy. Then outline a strategy for influencing the policy process in the direction you refer. • 1.4 Do any of the policies in Question 1 have the characteristics of more than one technique of control? If so, which? How would these mixed characteristics affect the politics surrounding the policy?

28. MCDONNELL AND ELMORE'S POLICY INSTRUMENTS • McDonnell and Elmore (1987) argued that four "alternative policy instruments, or . . . mechanisms [exist] that translate substantive policy goals . . . into concrete actions". • Those four instruments are mandates, inducements, capacity building, and system changing. Seven years later, McDonnell added a fifth instrument to the framework: hortatory policy, or persuasion.

29. Although Lowi’s three techniques of control are based on the impact of policies on society, McDonnell and Elmore developed their framework of Policy instruments by considering “the conditions under which these instruments are most likely to produce their intended effects" (McDonnell & Elmore, 1987, p. 133). • Lowi's categories can be understood as a wide-angle lens for looking at policies, bringing the whole society into view. McDonnell and Elmore's resembles a close-up lens, permitting a detailed view of how a particular policy type functions.

30. TABLE 9.1 McDonnell and Elmore's Policy Instruments Policy Instrument Components Best Context Costs Major Drawback Mandates 1. Language 1.Uniform 1. Enforcement Adversarial requiring behavior 2. Compliance relationships behavior desirable 3. Avoidance 2. Penalty 2. Strong support Inducements 1. Short-term Diverse behavior Oversight Excessive transfer desirable diversity of resources 2. Guidelines Capacity Building 1. Long-term Existing 1.investment Intangibility of investment institutions 2. Administration short-term 2. Guidelines unable to respond results

31. Policy Instrument Components Best Context Costs Major Drawback System-Change Shift of Existing Countering Unpredictable authority institutions resistance results unwilling to respond Hortatory Policy 1. Information Target population Disseminating Danger of 2.Symbols, most likely information manipulation Images, to act on 3. Appeal to values information

32. A mandate is a "rule governing the actions of Individuals and agencies" It usually consists of two components: (I) language that spells out required behavior for all people in a specified social group, and (2) a prescribed penalty for those who fail to comply. Mandates are appropriate policy instruments only in certain situations. A mandate functions best when one wants to encourage all members of a group to behave in the same way and when the mandate can be enforced. Mandates also require strong political support. Mandates

33. Compulsory attendance laws meet both criteria; almost all people, both average citizens and political leaders, believe that children should be educated, and school attendance cay easily be enforced. However like policy instruments, mandates imply costs. These include the cost of enforcing a mandate, the cost of complying with it, and the cost of avoiding compliance. The ideal result of a mandate is widespread, uniform behavior of a socially Desirable sort. Mandates usually create an adversariaI relationship between the enforcing agency and those who do not wish to comply.

34. Inducements • An inducement is a "transfer of money [or in-kind grants] to individuals or agencies in return for the production of goods or services“. Inducements consist of two components: (1) the money services or in-kind materials to be transferred, and (2) guidelines that spell out how they are to be used. These guidelines may be broad, as with block grants, or detailed, as with categorical grants • inducements are appropriate only in certain situations. However, first, because accepting inducements is voluntary, leaders should not use them to encourage a behavior so desirable that everyone should display it.

35. Second, inducements work best when large numbers of potential implementers are willing to implement the policy but currently lack the resources to do so. Naturally, inducements entail costs. Money must be provided to fund grants or provide in-kind contributions such as teaching materials and testing services.

36. The ideal result of inducements is diverse behavior in policy domains where diversity is acceptable. Because school districts and schools serve different populations and must therefore meet different needs, inducements offer an opportunity to develop flexible, responsive programs tailored to local situations. • Excessive diversity can pose problems, however. Inducements should be used to advance abroad, coherent policy goals; otherwise, a patchwork quilt of unrelated and contradictory programs may evolve.

37. Capacity Building • Capacity Building can be defined as “the transfer of money for the purpose of investment in material, intellectual, or human resources”. The word investment indicates the major difference between inducements and capacity building. The latter policy instrument is designed to bring about a major, permanent change in the function ability of an individual or an organization. Therefore, it represents a long-term investment, whose full impact will not apparent for years. • A major component of capacity building is a large sum of money that is transferred to the implementing agency as a grant or as an appropriation of earmarked funds. • The other major component is investment guidelines.

38. Capacity building is well suited to situations in which the currently employed staff and existing institutions cannot carry out desired policies because they are incapable of doing so. This incapacity may result from insufficient training, a lack of appropriate experience, inadequate equipment, or some combination of these.

39. A good example of capacity building is the Venture Capital program in Ohio. Under it, schools can apply to the state for a grant of $25,000 a year for up to five years. The narrow purpose of these grants is to supports “long-term, evolving efforts focused on a particular dimension of school improvement" . • The broader purpose is "to build organizational capacity by adopting one of eleven will0established school improvement programs or by inventing a school improvement program of their own. • The ideal result of capacity building is people and institutions capable of implementing desirable new programs and policies. However, capacity building has major drawback. Precisely because it is expensive and yields results only in the long term, its political support may evaporate before sufficient capacity has been built.

40. System Change • System change is a policy instrument shat "transfer[s] . . . official authority among individuals and agencies" . Its central component is a statute, administrative rule, or board policy that weakens or eliminates the authority of an official or agency over a specific decision-making area while simultaneously shifting that authority to different individuals or agencies. • As a secondary effect, a system change may reallocate resources; however, in a true system change the shift of resources follows the shift of authority. • Voucher plans offer a good example of system change.

41. System change is an appropriate policy instrument when new behavior is needed but the currently employed staff and existing institutions are unresponsive to demands for change. • In their book, Chubb and Moe (1990) explained at length why public schools, as institutions, cannot provide high-quality education to children in the United States. Therefore, they argued, an institutional change needed. • They considered vouchers the best way to improve education because they believed vouchers would stimulate competition among schools.

42. Advocates of system changes often believe their policy reform will save money, leading to greater efficiency in the use of resources. • However, a high, although intangible, cost is associated with system change. People who stand to lose power and resources (and perhaps their jobs) through a system change will not stand idly by while it occurs. • They will probably mount resistance to the proposed change, and if change comes anyway they may work to sabotage it. Such resistance can entail costs in both morale and lowered productivity. In 1990 Chubb and Moe anticipated strong opposition to their plan from professional educators.

43. Since then, reactions in states where voucher legislation has been proposed have confirmed their expectations. • The ideal result of a system change is a revolutionized institution able and willing to meet the new demands placed upon it. The major drawback is its unpredictability. The individuals or agencies to whom authority has been shifted: may be as unable to meet new demands as the previous ones were. • Unforeseen consequences may also arise, causing problems equal to or worse than those that existed under the older system.

44. Hortatory Policy, or Persuasion • Hortatory Policy, or Persuasion “send a signal that particular goals and actions are considered a high priority by government" . Because they are intended to persuade, hortatory policies are primarily discursive, using symbolism and imagery to appeal to values in order to encourage citizens to act on their values. • The major components of hortatory policies are written, spoken, or graphic texts that communicate information and suggest that people should behave in a certain way.

45. Common examples in schools include campaigns to encourage children to recycle trash and "Just say no" drug education programs. Simply providing information to the public may play a hortatory role. • Many states release distinct-by-district or school-by-school test results to media as a way of persuading educators to take the tests seriously and, if necessary change their curriculum.

46. Combining Policy Instruments • Although for analytical purposes McDonnell and Elmore distinguish five policy instruments, education leaders must understand that in practice, policy instruments are often combined. Indeed, combining several instruments within a single policy can work quite effectively to bring about change.

47. Combining Policy Instruments in School Leadership • The effective combination of several instruments depends upon coherence: all instruments must be used to achieve the same broad policy goal. Failure to keep this principle in mind leads to a confusing set of policies that undercut each other. • As an illustration, let us imagine a middle school principal who wishes that her building looked cleaner and more attractive. At the moment, the school’s halls are Iittered, the floors near eating areas are stained, and graffiti cover desk tops as well as the booths in student restrooms.

48. Her first reaction to this mess might be to crack down by announcing several new, punitive mandates. Any child caught littering, spilling food, or defacing school property might automatically be given a detention. • Deeper reflection should suggest problems with this approach. It would have to be enforced by faculty and staff, so it would probably increase hostility between teachers and students-always undesirable. • Moreover, it would pose enforcement problems. Although youngsters often commit the relatively minor offenses of littering and spilling food in the presence of adults, the more serious offense of damaging school property is usually committed privately.

49. Therefore, vigorous enforcement could lead to a blatancy unfair situation in which minor infractions are punished and major ones are not. Of course, middle school students would be quick to perceive this injustice and point it out. • A more effective approach would be to combine policy instruments in a long-term strategy. This strategy might begin with several hortatory policies. For example, the first day of school, the principal might declare this year Make School Beautiful Year. • A special assembly program and posters and banners in the halls could be used to reinforce this message. Littering, careless spills, and petty vandalism could be identified as some of the barriers to a beautiful school while focusing on the positive theme.

50. Next, the principal might utilize inducements. Middle school youngster are unlikely to relish writing grant proposals, but they do enjoy contests. Each month classes could submit a plan for beautifying some part of the building. • The winning class could be given free time to carry out its proposal, a pizza party upon its completion, and publicity to celebrate its achievement. • The principal should not overlook capacity building, either. She should seriously consider the possibility that the custodial staff or its equipment are inadequate. Are enough trash cans placed in the halls? Are they located in the most crucial places? Do the custodians need training on how to organize their work or remove spills and graffiti? All these possibilities should be explored .