Fowler-- Chapter 9 and 11

Chapter 9
An important part of being a school leader is to look at policies and scrutinize them as administrators are the ones to develop policies in some instances and implementing others' policies in other cases.

Fowler presents three lenses in which to critically look at policies:

1. Lowi's Techniques of Control
• three basic types of policies-- distributive (bestow gifts such as goods and services to citizens), regulatory (formal rules applied to large groups of people), redistributive (shifts resources from one social group to another)-- each has its own political arena
• not one of Lowi's policies fits, in many cases they are overlapping.  Fowler argues that in the long term, all policies are both regulatory and redistributive (pg. 219).
• Lowi's policies help manage policy change in the long-term.  Fowler suggests that wise leaders shouldn't make too many changes at once and to ensure that many people are not at the end of too many changes,
2. McDonnell and Elmore's Policy Instruments
• mandates-- rules that consist of language and penalties for those who do not comply with the rules.  The MOST popular.  
• inducements-- money transferred to indiv/agencies in return for goods and services
• capacity building-- money given in purpose of investing in intellectual or human resources
• system changing-- transfers authorities among indiv/agencies
• persuasion (fifth added later)-- sends a signal that goals and actions are considered a high priority
• COMBINATION-- coherence is an effective combo of the above policy instruments
3. Cost Analysis and Cost-effectiveness Analyses
• combo of personnel, facilities, and required client inputs
• also consider tangible and intangible costs and benefits
• systematic way to compare alternative methods to reach goals

Chapter 11
This chapter considered evaluation and if policies really do work.  On pg. 278, Fowler discusses that many policies are never evaluated or at least not evaluated carefully, so no one is able to act on the findings.  Evaluations are "nervous making".

Important terms for policy evaluation-- evaluation, project, program, stakeholder

Basic steps

1. determine goals of policy
2. select indicators
3. develop how data will be collected
4. collect data
5. analyze and summarize data
6. write evaluation
7. respond to evaluators' recommendations

Methodologies that can be used

• quantitative
• qualitative
• holistic-- use both

Evaluations are almost always political :( and there are maneuvers to prevent a good evaluation 

Acting on an evaluation report-- a variety of options

• inaction
• minor modifications
• major modifications-- replacement, consolidation, splitting, decrementing
• termination