Public Policy Analysis
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Public Policy Analysis
Introduction
Public policy is one systematic procedure that involves different forms of considerations. It is important for the decision-makers to pay close attention to different stages of public policy formation to achieve the desired outcomes. The main aim or objective concerning the public issue should be effectively addressed through the domain of public policy. The public policy process is recognized as the comprehensive manner which comprised of different steps of policymaking. The multi-stage cycle of public policy process ensures the attainment of desired outcomes. Proper association between different interrelated stages is a critical feature to attain the desired outcomes. Public policy analysis is established as the one important phase of the procedure of public policy. The practical approach of public policy analysis helps to determine the effectiveness of the policy concerning specific social issue. The approach of public analysis helps decision-makers to understand the actual magnitude of social concerns. Unequal distribution of finances in the education sector of the country is one major issue at federal, state, and local level. There is a need for offering better public policy perspective to ensure appropriate financial resources for educational institutes according to actual needs. Here the focus is to create public policy to critically address the issue of unequal allocation of resources for the education sector of the country.
Discussion
Critical assessment of the current public policy on the issue of education is important to identify specific areas which require necessary attention. It is important for the decision-makers to get necessary prior knowledge on the issue to propose better and durable outcomes for the future. The comprehensive idea of public policy is illustrated as the actions adopted by the government to propose better solutions to the ongoing social problems. The idea of public policy is to utilize by the government entities to achieve effective constitutional goals concerning social issues.
The concept of Public Policy
Initially, it is essential for the decision-makers to understand the actual concept of public policy comprehensively. The broader form of public policy is based on the actions of government entities in response to different social issues. The proper combination of different laws and regulations offered by the government helps to resolve issues at communities, state, and national level. Generally, the idea of public policy based on the domains of the system of laws, different regulatory measures, the proper course of actions, and the required financial resources. Funding priorities for different sectors of the society are defined under the paradigm of public policy ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"OxkmVg9M","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Dye, 2002)","plainCitation":"(Dye, 2002)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1656,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/PXB8G573"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/PXB8G573"],"itemData":{"id":1656,"type":"book","title":"Understanding Public Policy","publisher":"Prentice Hall","URL":"https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=R5ApAQAAMAAJ","ISBN":"978-0-13-026008-6","author":[{"family":"Dye","given":"T. R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Dye, 2002). Government representatives working at different levels are ranked as responsible entities to propose better solutions to the different concerns of society.
The issue of Educational System of the Country
It is worthy to explore different dimensions of the growing issue of the education system of the country. Detailed understanding of different aspects helps to propose a suitable public policy to attain desired outcomes of literacy for all the children of the country. The issue of failure of the education system of the country prevails for many years. The existence of concerns at different levels of education eventually influences the overall performance of the education system of the country. It is evident that all learners have not equal chances to attain effective forms of learning. Undoubtedly, the learning environment is not conducive for the citizens of all the states. It is observed that the issues of educational opportunities mostly prevail at state and local governments. Schools situated in less developed areas facing the problem of low funding that eventually affect educational opportunities for children at great extent. The particular issue of unequal funding in the education structure of the country is growing that demands to take some useful and practical measures.
The Public Policy Process
It is important for the policy-makers to focus on different steps or stages of the public policy process when they get initial knowledge about the social issue or concern of society. In this case, there is a need for offering a better public policy to handle the growing problem of the failure of the education system of the country. There is a need to pay close attention to different phases of public policy procedure to attain desired outcomes that will be acceptable for the majority of the groups of the society. Detailed consideration of all the stages of public policy crafting is essential to identify the actual problem. This form of understanding also helps to figure out actual causes of the issue and what practical aspects can be referred to the preventive measures. The entire cycle of policymaking can never be recognized as complete without going through with each stage of the entire process of public policy. It is vital to discuss the issue of the education system of the country considering all the stages of the whole procedure of public policy. The overall idea of the policy-making process can be divided into several stages from identification of the problem to offer practical solutions in the form of final policy. The popular stage model of public policy established the whole process of policy making into five major phases. These stages are categorized as agendas setting, policy formulation, adoption (or decision-making), implementation, and evaluation. Proper adoption of all the stages is essential to attain desired outcomes in the form of beneficial public policy for society. Critical consideration of all these stages for the issue of the education system is also viable to leads to some practical measures. The problem of the education system of the country can better understand in the context of public policy when it comes to proposing some feasible solutions.
Agenda Setting
Agenda setting is ranked as the initial stage to identify the problem that further helps to adopt necessary measures in a suitable way. Development of the main agenda provide directions for the policy-makers. It is the specific stage that helps them to recognize the actual magnitude of the problem and its influences on the related groups in society. The phase of agenda setting established as the first stage of public policy life-cycle that turn the issue of unequal distribution of financial resources for educational institutions as the main agenda item for the policymaking bodies working at federal, state, and local level.
Different institutional aspects play a critical role to determine any issue as the agenda for the policy-makers. It is important to indicate that the different forms of lobbying efforts of interest groups play a serious role to establish any social concern as the domain of agenda ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"kS5JpBz0","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hill & Varone, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Hill & Varone, 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1794,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/7S3KD8VS"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/7S3KD8VS"],"itemData":{"id":1794,"type":"book","title":"The public policy process","publisher":"Routledge","ISBN":"1-317-86036-5","author":[{"family":"Hill","given":"Michael"},{"family":"Varone","given":"Frederic"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Hill & Varone, 2014). This phenomenon is also applied in case of ranking funding issue of the education sector as the main policy agenda for policy-makers. It is important to understand that there are many social issues prevails in the country but only those turns as the agenda that are established as silent concerns for the many citizens of the society. This particular standard is also applied in case of the issue of unequal distribution of financial resources for the educational institutes of the country. It turned as the main agenda for the policy-makers because it adversely influences the future of many children in different states of the country. It is the right time for the legislative bodies to show some serious concerns for this issue that consider it as the agenda to offer better constitutional forms on the form of public policy.
Unequal distribution of funds for public schools is a major issue in the United States. It is notable to mention that federal, state, and local sources are responsible for public school's funding in the United States. However, the majority of the taxes comes from the local property taxes which changes from state to state. Due to this reason, the system generates large funding differences among various communities. Wealthy communities tend to give more funds to public schools as compared to the impoverished communities. Such differences exist among school districts and even different schools within each state. The statistics show that New Jersey is the state with the highest average level of funding for its public schools, while Utah is the state with the lowest average level of public school funding. Such statistics reveal that students studying in public schools of New Jersey are provided with more financial resources as compared to students who are studying in Utah. It is notable to mention that variations in public school funding create inequality among the education capabilities of students. For instance, schools with larger public school funding are more capable of providing viable resources to their students so they can study in a better environment. However, low public school funding prevents students from availing better studying opportunities, hence reducing their performance.
There is an immense need for change in the public policy in order to facilitate students of each public school with an equal environment and equal opportunities. It is evident that the United States is committed to the welfare of children. Every US citizen is willing for the ideal of equal opportunities for children, but they are ignoring the fact that inequality in school funding can make a major difference, which can change the notion of better performance for every student. The government of the United States needs to make alterations in their public policy regarding school funding to avoid the deterioration of students’ performance along with their future. It is a well-known fact that better funded schools often generate higher levels of achievements. There is no denying the fact that better funded schools mainly attract well-skilled teachers, more experience, and higher levels of education so that they can generate better achievement scores among students. Class size is a major factor that is associated with the performance of the student and the ability of the teacher to teach. Better funded schools can decrease the number of students in a class in order to generate better achievement among students. According to the equal rights act in the United States, every person must be given equal opportunities in every matter. Therefore, students must be given equal opportunities to perform well in their school.
The students from disadvantaged families often suffer discrimination in attaining better opportunities in public schools. These students have no other option than getting an education in the low funded schools, which can significantly destroy their learning capabilities. It is evident that immediate and effective action is required to address this crucial issue ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"RvfCQf24","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Strauss, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Strauss, 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1796,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/DXHUHQH7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/DXHUHQH7"],"itemData":{"id":1796,"type":"webpage","title":"America's School Funding Problems, State by State","container-title":"The Washington Post","author":[{"family":"Strauss","given":"Valerie"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Strauss, 2014). Local property taxes’ funding of the public schools have deep historical roots in the United States which is catastrophic for low funded states. The ideal way to address this particular issue is to make changes in federal policies and public policies. The government of the United States needs to effectively reduce the inequalities in school funding to mitigate this challenge. Local property taxes must be collected at a single platform and after that, the money should be distributed equally among each public school. By doing so, the issue of unequal funding for public school will be mitigated.
Policy Formulation
Policy formulation is the crucial step to practically start working on the policy-making relevant to the main agenda. Once the issue of unequal distribution of financial resources is established as the agenda, now the next step for the policy-makers is to offer practical strategies. This specific stage of public policy life-cycle involves the entire perspective of the proposal of possible solutions to the main agenda issue of unequal learning opportunities for all the children. Critical identification of all the related considerations is essential to properly shape the overall formulation of the first possible policy. The active role of politicians, lobbyists, and activists at this stage is crucial to determine the seriousness of the problem of education system exist in the country.
The stage of policy formulation provides all possible choices to policy-makers when it comes to proposing a feasible solution to the problem in the form of public policy. Possible advantages and disadvantages of all the possible options are considered and critically assessed by the decision-makers under the paradigm of public policy formulation stage. The main idea of policy analysis helps policy-makers at this particular stage. This specific feature guides them to identify all the relevant aspects and their implications when they are thinking to offer a new public policy for the education system of the country. The alternative solution to the existing problem comprised of two main factors. It is necessary for the policy-makers to consider these paradigms to change the existing situation of educational institutes. These particular features indicate that the proposed policy should be valid and politically feasible. Popular
Decision-Making
Decision-making is ranked as the most critical stage of the entire process of policy making concerning the issue of failure of the existing education system. It is important for the policy-makers to consider all the related factors when it comes to forming the decision of offering new public policy. The stage of decision-making is also identified as the phase of policy adaption. It is the stage when it becomes necessary for the policy-makers to accept new public policy on practical grounds. The idea of decision-making is closely associated with the integral domain of policy analysis. Policy-makers need to adopt effective and relevant public policy model to ensure desired outcomes. Selection of suitable public policy model is important to ensure proper implementation of the stage of public policy analysis. It is established by the decision-makers that rational decision-making model can be an effective option to complete the entire process of policy-making ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Ah9WD2Ic","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Jones, 2003)","plainCitation":"(Jones, 2003)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1795,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/E24HDR95"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/E24HDR95"],"itemData":{"id":1795,"type":"article-journal","title":"Bounded rationality and political science: Lessons from public administration and public policy","container-title":"Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory","page":"395-412","volume":"13","issue":"4","author":[{"family":"Jones","given":"Bryan D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Jones, 2003). The certain model of rational decision-making is proposed to provide maximum gain to the overall society of America. This specific model is selected because of the issue of funding for the education system influence the whole society. It is important to provide benefits to the large portion of society by offering new options in the form of the less costly education system for the learners. It is proposed by the decision-makers to enhance the ratio of financial resources for the regions of the country who are less-developed. The increase of government spending to bear expenses of school institutions can be helpful in the form of new public policy which is designed by government entities.
Government actions need to be aligned with the actual needs and expectation of government from the overall education system of the country. Formulated policy needs to be adopted by the government institutions with the critical perspective of the rational model of public policy. It is important to explore that necessary collaboration between the federal and state governments is immensely important to ensure the entire effectiveness of the new education policy. It is one of the core responsibilities of the federal policy-makers to consider concerns of all the states when it comes to adopting new education policy which should be suitable and acceptable for all the shareholders. The stage if policy adaption is crucial because it is influenced by different active stakeholders. It is important for the policy-makers to consider the idea of rational decision-making when it comes to offering possible solutions to the problem of unequal distribution of financial resources.
Implementation
Implementation is the fourth stage of the public policy procedure which makes it essential for the policy-makers to practically establishing the idea of new public policy. The formulation of the public policy for the education sector demands to execute it in an effective way. Now, there is a step of practical measures to provide anticipated benefits to all the children concerning the objective of equal learning opportunities for all. The stage of implementation of public policy ensure duties of related legislative entities to implement a new policy with its full potential. It is critical for the executors of public policy to understand that there are many factors that can influence the implementation stage of public policy ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"FtgPjv79","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(O\\uc0\\u8217{}Toole Jr, 2000)","plainCitation":"(O’Toole Jr, 2000)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1797,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/VHFASVL6"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/lMSdZ3dY/items/VHFASVL6"],"itemData":{"id":1797,"type":"article-journal","title":"Research on policy implementation: Assessment and prospects","container-title":"Journal of public administration research and theory","page":"263-288","volume":"10","issue":"2","author":[{"family":"O'Toole Jr","given":"Laurence J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2000"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (O’Toole Jr, 2000). There is a need for proper realization of all these aspects to determine the effective form of application of an entire form of new public policy.
The funding for the schools will be increased for the areas of the country which are ranked as less developed countries. It is one core prospect of the new public policy to equal chances of learning for all the children. It is observed that mostly African American children are suffering due to the existing phenomenon of unequal distribution of resources. The new public policy relevant to the education system of the country should be aligned with the main objective of the provision of equal learning opportunities for everyone.
Evaluation
The stage of evaluation is ranked as the final phase of the public policy process which assists policy-makers to assess the actual benefit of the new policy. The particular idea of evaluation or the public policy assessment is also important in case of policy about the concern of the education system of the country. Critical assessment helps decision-makers to check the overall performance of the government institutions and offer better solutions for the future. It is suggested for the policy-makers to adopt the stage of evaluation over time to assess the effectiveness of the existing policy. Consideration of this certain stage eventually assists policy-makers to change different forms of public policy with the changing requirements for the education sector of the country. There are options of different standards that can be used by the policy-makers to assess the overall effectiveness of the new solutions to the problem of funding for the education sector of the country. It is the decision of policy-makers to adopt the most suitable approach to check the suitability of the proposed public policy.
Conclusion
To conclude the discussion about the overall idea of the public policy process, it is important to highlight that there are different features of concerns relevant to this main idea. It is one core agenda of the government entities to pay close attention to all the different stages of the public policy procedure to offer viable solutions for the society in the end. The desired form of public policy can only achieve when it provides benefit to a large portion of society. The objective of handling various social concerns should be to meet the standards of all the stages of public policy.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Dye, T. R. (2002). Understanding Public Policy. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=R5ApAQAAMAAJ
Hill, M., & Varone, F. (2014). The public policy process. Routledge.
Jones, B. D. (2003). Bounded rationality and political science: Lessons from public administration and public policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 13(4), 395–412.
O’Toole Jr, L. J. (2000). Research on policy implementation: Assessment and prospects. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 10(2), 263–288.
Strauss, V. (2014). America’s School Funding Problems, State by State.
