Class Reflection- Week 6

I have a new favorite person, and her name is Fran Bradford.  I love that she is an outspoken woman who just says what's on her mind.  I imagine that she can't do that all the time, but I could see her saying what this thinks over what is necessarily pc/business, and I really respect that.

Thanks to Jess for asking Fran about her background because I always find it interesting to see the circular paths people take to get where they are.  A degree in art-- like my degree in political science and history-- I know how to "think" but it took some help to figure out how studying what I was interested in could help me find a job that I enjoy.  Also shows again that who you know is helpful-- yes, you need to make opportunities for yourself but a foot in the door never hurt.

Fran provided a great framework and discussion of the 2011 Higher Education Opportunity Act of Virginia and the 2005 Restructuring Act.  Language plays such a large role in these laws, especially who was initiating it and why.  Big differences—Restructuring was a ground up initiative while Higher Ed was top down  and much more political.   As a top down act, 100,000 more degrees are wanted from VA, and this comes from grow by degrees (if you multiply this number by 50, this is the amount of graduates encouraged by some federal law
• Mass differences across the state schools what they need to do—help with retention and grad (comm colleges) to take more students in (WM, already high graduation rates)

She also gave us some background into the process and the different laws-- to test drive the language of these acts before going in for a vote, public meetings were held.  I'm really interested in this.  In class and in the readings, we have talked about different laws and how the laws provide the framework but not the money or infrastructure to enact these laws.  Do the people at the public meetings know this?  That the law may not actually be enacted as written due to vague language and no funding?

My last bit of my notes from Fran's talk is:
SCHEV is drowning in data—great dissertation, would love to help.  THESIS topic??  SCHEV data compared to the student satisfaction survey that college seniors complete (would be interesting to compare the SCHEV data and graduation/job placement to college satisfaction from one school in the Commonwealth to the other, especially for WM as liberal arts school-- Fran's comment that WM grades don't make more than other recent grads in Commonwealth but have higher growth potential, potentially, but take advantage of opportunities of gap year, Peace Corp, etc).  I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself....

From the Fowler reading, here is my order of my social values:

1. Liberty
2. Equality
3. Efficiency
4. Individualism
5. Order
6. Quality
7. Fraternity
8. Economic Growth

I'm not sure why economic growth is last (since it drives so much of life around us), but I have somehow been okay when the economy has not been.  I guess I care about the other things more, but I imagine my list would change as my life circumstance alter.

Timmers, Willemsen, & Tijdens

Gender diversity policies in universities: a multi-perspective framework of policy measures

The article aimed to discover if policies utilized to increase women as university professors is effective.  They utilized a literature review and then a survey (questionnaire and interviews) to see what policies were used and how effective they are.

One method was using a gender equality policy for hiring.  As students, more females are enrolled than males in undergraduate institutions, and it is even said they graduate faster and with better grades (p. 720).  The how when it comes to becoming professors are there so little females in the profession?  Again, one answer is the gender equality policy.


Theory- three factors used to explain under-representation of women- individual, cultural, structural/institutional influences

• Individual- men and women are basically the same
• ImpoCultural- org's culture, history, ideology, and politics are related to women's limited success
• in some cases, gender discrimination still exists
• Company is not welcoming to women-- several studies suggest that having more women on the search committee helps with barriers limiting women in the hiring process
• affirmative action plans, equality committees and task forces are effective

Research Questions Authors are Trying to Answer

1. Can gender equality in academics fit within above factors?
2. Gender equality policy-- random or patterns?
3. Gender equality policies lead to more females in academia?

Case Study- 14 universities in Netherlands- mostly with HR

• Yes, the policies fit in with individual, cultural, and structural perspective
• Helpful-- mentoring and coaching female staff, women's network
• good to have it sponsored by university
• Important to note!! Does not include women working part time, pregnancy or maternity leave
• Also, exit interviews were not used on how to make things better for women, but they should be in future
• many initiatives- too short in duration, departments didn't comply with suggestions or even directives
• ex- "it doesn't fit our way of thinking, this policy is outdated" (p. 731)-- this makes me sad :(
• buy in is needed from everyone!  if not, doomed to not succeed 
• 
  

individual, cultural, and structural perspective correlations

-cultural and structural highest

-individual and structural lowest

Fowler- Chapters 2 and 5

Chapter 2- Power and Education Policy

What is power?-- the ability to affect the behavior of another actor.  Power is not absolute.  Someone with power in one setting can then be powerless in another setting.

Discourse- the language and talking in order to reach a policy decision (or just having a discussion)

• text
• social events
• social practice

Three Dimensional Model of Power- explicit uses of power, mobilization of bias, shaping of consciousness

Explicit use of Power- if not directly observable, then readily deduced from observable evidence

• Types of power- force (physical or psychic force to damage a self-concept), economic dominance, authority (authority depends on legitimacy), and persuasion (convincing that the desired behavior is good

Mobilization of Bias- in regards to race, parental involvement, gender, class, etc

Shaping of Consciousness

• Many social constructs are important in shaping this-- family, language, media, school, religion

Important quote-- "Achieving a policy goal often requires building power.  People build power by obtaining more, or different, power resources" (p. 38)

There are certainly dangers in power, and Fowler recommends discursive power ethically with respect, commitment to valid information, and freedom of choice.  

Chapter 5- Values and Ideology

This chapter focuses on the importance of people's own ideas, but recognizes that leaders in today's schools have to understand the surrounding politics, so they can think intelligently about education policy.

Ideas, beliefs, and values are important

1. shape how people define policy problems
2. constrain people's ability to perceive possible solutions (limit)

General Social Values

1. Order
2. Individualism
3. liberty
4. equality
5. fraternity
6. efficiency
7. economic growth
8. quality

Values in US Politics

• 1950s-1980s- everyone acted in self-interest
• Self-interest values- economic, power
• 1980s- present- act in both self-interest and other values like personal principles-- ideological, philosophical, or religious.  Fowler believes people are more like this, but it may, unfortunately, be too optimistic.  
• Social values- order, individualism
• Democratic values- liberty (freedom, choice), Equality (opportunity and./or results), fraternity (perceive closeness with others, sense of responsibility for them, can turn to others for help)
• Economic values- efficiency and economic growth

There are cyclical shifts in dominant values-- Low's policy type perspectives.  There is a constant search for balance.

Ideology certainly affects policy, particularly with politics

• Conservatism
• Business- motivated by self/economic interest
• Religious- resurgence of religious fundamentalism 
• Tea Party- less government, lower taxes, greatly reduced national debt
• Liberalism
• New Democrats- skeptical of entitled groups, especially those designed to give help to disadvantaged-- addressing symptoms instead of causes
• Progressive Democrats- suspicious of bug business and large companies, want to enhance power of ordinary citizens

Another section discusses how school leaders are caught in the ideological crossfire.  This is highly problematic at every level-- and in many cases, politics (particularly religion) does not have its place in the school system (my opinion...)  I don't know how to keep it out, but it always seems to seep in...