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Policy windows, public opinion, and policy ideas: the evolution of No Child Left Behind

Vasil Jaiani (Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA)
Andrew B. Whitford (Department of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA)

Quality Assurance in Education

ISSN: 0968-4883

Article publication date: 1 February 2011

6772

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the policy process that led to the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in the United States and the Bush Administration's role in this process.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is historical and archival. A description of the NCLB Act is given and the major provisions and implementation are focused upon. How the Bush Administration helped create the opportunity to pass the NCLB Act by building coalitions, and how public opinion affected the evolution of the policy process is focused upon. Finally, a description is given on how policy ideas like the concept of “accountability” shaped the policy process, and both inspired and constrained the Bush Administration.

Findings

The paper argues that the Bush Administration helped create the opportunity to pass the NCLB Act by building coalitions, and public opinion affected the evolution of the policy process. Policy ideas like the concept of “accountability” shaped the policy process, and both inspired and constrained the Bush Administration.

Research limitations/implications

The case is limited to the United States and NCLB, although those cases are particularly important in North America and in evaluation‐based research.

Practical implications

The paper shows how a policy designer can be limited both by political initiatives and his or her own conceptual grounding.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to connect the policy process that guided President Bush's design of the NCLB legislation with the concept of “accountability”. Accountability is a foundational concept in the design of quality assurance systems.

Keywords

Citation

Jaiani, V. and Whitford, A.B. (2011), "Policy windows, public opinion, and policy ideas: the evolution of No Child Left Behind", Quality Assurance in Education, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 8-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684881111107735

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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