EAD 5810

EDUCATIONAL POLICY
AND
PLANNING
POLICY: RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE
THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION

By: Dr. Siti Sabihah binti Ghazali

 CONTENT
• POLICY MODELS AND APPROACHES
• POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND
EVALUATION
POLICY MODELS
AND
APPROACHES
 INSTITUTIONAL MODEL
• Public policy is authoritatively determined, implemented and
enforced by political institutions such as the legislature, the
executive, the judiciary and the political parties.
• A policy is not a policy until it is adopted by government
institutions. Government lends legitimacy to policies.
• Government policies are generally regarded as legal obligations
that command the obedience and loyalty of citizens.
• Government policies extend to all people in a country.
 ELITE-MASS MODEL
• The Elite-Mass Model (also known as the Elite Theory) views public policy as
the preferences, priorities, values and interests of a ruling elite.
• The ruling elite is a small group composed of people with wealth,
intelligence, skills, political power, military might, influence, etc. They
belong to the upper class of society.
• Elite theory suggests that people are passive, apathetic, ill-informed and
easily manipulated. Therefore, elites actually shape mass (public) opinion
on policy issues/ matters more than the masses shape elite opinion.
• Thus, public policy really turns out to be the preferences of the elite. Mass
sentiments do not influence the values of elites.
• Public policy does not reflect the demands or wants of the masses (people).
Moreover, elections would not enable the mass to make public policy;
elections only tie the mass to the political system governed by the elite.
Source: Johnson (2011)
 RATIONAL MODEL
• process for making logically-sound decisions in the public sector.
• Rationality is "a style of behaviour that is appropriate to the
achievement of given goals. The rational model is intended to
achieve "maximum social gain“.
(Herbert Simon)
• Governments should choose policies resulting in gains to society
- the gains must exceed costs.
• In other words, no policy should be adopted if its costs exceed
its benefits. Decision-makers should choose the policy that
produces the greatest benefit over cost.
• According to Rational Model, achieving rational decisions involve
the following steps:
i. Intelligence gathering: data and potential problems and
opportunities are identified, collected and analyzed;
ii. A list of possible alternatives to resolve the identified problem are
generated;
iii. The alternatives are evaluated in terms of the consequences,
costs and benefits of each policy alternative, the ratio of benefits
to costs for each alternative are calculated and the most efficient
and effective policy alternative is selected and implemented.

• The implemented policy is then evaluated in terms of its

effectiveness, efficiency and impact of policy and corrective action
is taken to overcome the problems identified.
GROUP MODEL / GROUP THEORY
• Views politics as a struggle among various groups (example:
political parties, pressure groups, racial and religious groups) in a
society to influence public policy.
• It states that public policy is the result of the struggle and
competition between various groups in a society. Policy-makers
constantly respond to group pressures bargaining, negotiating
and compromising among competing demands of influential
groups and balancing conflicting interests in society.
• The power of each group is checked by the power of competing
groups. According to the group theory, public policy at any given
time is the equilibrium (balance) reached in the group struggle or
competition.
 INCREMENTALISM
(INCREMENTAL MODEL)
• Views public policy as a continuation of past government activities or policies
with only incremental changes (additional changes) or modifications (modified).
• Because an in-depth analysis of the costs and benefits of every conceivable
alternative for dealing with a problem in public policy is often very time-
consuming and expensive, public organizations may resort to a practical
shortcut in deciding on possible improvements to existing programmes.
• Only a few of the many possible options or alternatives and their consequences
are seriously considered or examined. Policy-makers generally accept the
legitimacy of established programmes and agree to continue previous or
existing policies.
• Accept previous policies because of the uncertainty and lack of information
about the consequences of completely new or different policies.
• In this model, existing programmes or policies or expenditures
are considered as a base and only small changes, and not radical
innovations, are made to existing policies. There is no optimal
policy decision - a good policy is one that is acceptable to all
groups rather than what is best to solve a problem.
• Incremental policy is essentially remedial because it focuses on
small and gradual changes to existing policies rather than
dramatic fundamental changes or radical innovations.
• In this model, policy-making is also serial (one step at a time),
you have to keep coming back to problems as mistakes become
apparent and are corrected, and new approaches to the issues are
developed gradually.
• The model suggests that major changes occur through a series of
small steps, each of which does not fundamentally 'rock the
boat.'
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
AND
EVALUATION CYCLE
 POLICY DEVELOPMENT
• The activity of developing policy generally involves research,
analysis, consultation and synthesis of information to produce
recommendations.
• The process of deciding what should be achieved, what should
be done to achieve it, how to do it efficiently and economically,
who should do it and etc.
Part 1: Leading and Managing Policy
Development
• Part 1 deals with each of the attributes from the perspective of
what policy leaders and managers can do to facilitate
organizational/institution effectiveness in policy development

Three key attributes:

1. Leadership Direction and Support
2. Human Resource Capacity
3. Infrastructure Support
1. Leadership Direction and Support
• Driving And Sustaining Policy Development
An important aspect of leadership direction and support is
championing excellence in policy development. One of the best
ways to communicate this is through:
a. Process management;
b. Providing staff with the necessary resources; and
c. Product management (the policy paper or presentation that is
generated).
 Process Management
Determining If Issues Are Cross-Cutting
• Identify who needs to be involved in the process.

Assigning Suitable Resources

• Policy leaders/managers should be careful to resist the temptation of assigning whatever resources are available at the time to work on a
particular issue.

Demanding Excellence
• Policy leaders/manager should demand and expect excellence from policy analysts.

Communicating on Critical Parameters

• Need to provide policy analysts with as many “inputs” as possible that relate to the particular policy issue at hand

Engaging The Minister Responsible

• A minister should be given the opportunity at the outset to indicate just how involved he/she wants to be and at which stages of the
process he/she wishes to be consulted

Determining When It Is Appropriate To Involve Program Staff

• There are several reasons for doing this. First, program staff can be instrumental in helping to properly define the problem/issue.
• Second, because program staff are in the “front lines” so to speak, they can help to identify key persons to consult, and more importantly,
can advise on the suitability of the method of consultation for particular stakeholder/client groups.
• Third, bearing in mind that policy is frequently implemented through programs, being conscious of program implementation
considerations during the policy development stages can strengthen the quality of the policy proposals put forward
 Providing Staff with the Necessary
Resources
• Providing policy analysts with resources does not simply mean allocating more
manpower to get the job done. Allocating more staff or more time to a particular policy
exercise may not always be feasible.
Examples Of Resources For Policy Analysts
In order to be effective, policy staff need access to resources such as:
• Opportunities to be current in their policy field and to expand their subject knowledge.
• Opportunities to enhance skills (e.g., in assessing policy options, in conducting post
policy implementation evaluations, in consultation processes, data analysis and computer
manipulation techniques).
• Networking opportunities both within government and externally (e.g., through
interdepartmental and inter-governmental policy forums, external research groups/think
tanks, etc.).
• The appropriate infrastructure
 Product Management
• Those involved in leading and managing the process must ensure
effective communication in providing written or oral policy
advice.
• Effective communication (what language you speak), knowing
what to highlight, and being conscious of the fact that those on the
receiving end of policy advice (whether in written or oral form) are
generally not going to be conversant with the subject matter.
2. Human Resources
Investing in People
• Existing human resources are as skilled as they could be to carry
out policy development as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The more proficient a person is at something, the less time it takes
to get the job done. Thus it is of strategic importance to invest in
existing staff resources to strengthen their capacity to
effectively and efficiently meet the level of policy demand.
3. Infrastructure Support
i. Having the Right Tools to do the Job
• Leadership support also needs to extend to ensuring that policy analysts
have access to the resources they need such as:
– information technology (including software programs that facilitate analysis,
modeling and forecasting, etc.);
– various databases;
– purchase of research or consultant studies; and
– exposure to decision-making and discussions at senior levels.
ii. Dealing with Infrastructure Availability and Cost Issues
- Identify and share the problem. This is one way to gain leverage for the
necessary resources to obtain the required infrastructure.
Part 2: Policy Process Attributes
• The process of developing public policy is an activity that generally
involves research, analysis, consultation and synthesis of information
to produce recommendations.
• It should involve an evaluation of options against a set of criteria used to
assess each option. An effective policy process is one that is generally
characterized by the following five attributes:
• Five key attributes:

4. Issue Identification
5. Issue Analysis
6. Generating Solutions
7. Consultation
8. Performance Monitoring
4. Issue Identification
Defining the Problem
• How one understands and defines a problem affects the policy solutions put
forward to address the issue.
• It is therefore critical to properly diagnose the problem. To clearly define the
problem, one has to distinguish the symptoms or effects of a problem from the
actual problem.

Example:
School grades are declining. This may be a symptom of any number of issues such
as: an unstable home environment or malnutrition, both of which can affect ability
to concentrate; a reflection of teachers’ skills; or the curriculum has changed to
more challenging expectations of students. If the conclusion is that the issues are
socio/economic in nature the potential solution shifts from an education based
response to a social services based response or depending on the circumstances, to
a combination of educational and social policy initiatives.
5. Issue Analysis
i. Understanding the Problem
• The steps in the policy development process do not happen as separate
discreet steps. Rather the process is generally iterative and the steps
in the process are inter-related and inter-dependent.
• The aim of analysis of the problem is to understand it.
• Often a problem involves a number of concerns and is multi-
dimensional. Policy analyst have to identify the key dimensions of a
problem.
• Analyze the problem from different perspectives (understand the
environment in which the problem is occurring, understand
stakeholder/client perspectives, etc.).
ii. Comparative Data And Analysis
• Gathering comparative data is also useful as a way to find out how
the problem may have been handled elsewhere.
• It is especially important to find out how solutions to the problem
have worked elsewhere.
6. Generating Solutions
• There are two critical ingredients that can assist the process not
only of identifying potential solutions but as well, the process of
evaluating those potential solutions:
i. Having a conceptual framework that will guide the process of
generating and assessing various potential solutions to the
problem; and
ii. Having a clear sense of the desired outcomes or goals that the
selected policy is expected to achieve.
• A conceptual framework is the underpinning that should drive the
selection of policy options to be assessed. Such a framework
should consist of:
i. the main working parameters (i.e., the “givens” or the
limitations within which you are working);
ii. key principles/values;
iii. government/ministerial goals and priorities.

• As early as possible in the process of policy development, policy

analysts need to obtain confirmation from the person directing or
coordinating the policy development process on the above
elements that will guide the generation and assessment of policy
options.
7. Consultation
The Who, What, When, Where, Why And How Of Consultation
• An important step in the policy development process is deciding
on the best approach to consultation.
• When it comes to consultation, there is not a one size fits all
circumstances.
• Consultation has to be tailored to meet: the time frames,
resource availability and nature of the policy issue(s) at hand.
8. Performance Monitoring
• Performance measurement should not be handled as an after
thought to the policy development process.
• It needs to be an integral part of the process because reflecting
on performance measurement at the beginning also helps in
refining one’s thinking with respect to the expected outcomes.
Policy Evaluation
• Policy evaluation is learning about the consequences of public
policy. Other, more complex, definitions have been offered:
"Policy evaluation is the assessment of the overall effectiveness
of a national program in meeting its objectives, or assessment of
the relative effectiveness of two or more programs in meeting
common objectives.“ (Wholey, 1970)

• Some definitions tie evaluation to the stated "goals" of a program

or policy.
• The impact of a policy is all its effects on real world conditions,
including:
i. Impact on the target situation or group
ii. Impact on situations or groups other than the target (spillover
effects)
iii. Impact on future as well as immediate conditions
iv.Direct costs, in terms of resources devoted to the program
v. Indirect costs, including loss of opportunities to do other things

• All the benefits and costs, both immediate and future, should be
measured.
1. Measuring Impact, Not Output
• "Policy impact" is not the same as "policy output." In assessing
policy impact, we cannot be content simply to measure
government activity.
• For example, the number of dollars spent per member of a target
group (per pupil educational expenditures, per capita welfare
expenditures, per capita health expenditures) is not really a
measure of the impact of a policy on the group. It is merely a
measure of government activity-that is, a measure of policy
output.
• So, in assessing policy impact, we must identify changes in
society that are associated with measures of government
activity.
2. Target Groups
• The target group is that part of the population for whom the
program is intended-such as the poor, the sick, the ill. Target
groups must first be identified and then the desired effect of the
program on the members of these groups must be determined.

3. Non-target Groups
• All programs and policies have differential effects on various
segments of the population. Identifying important non-target
groups for a policy is a difficult process.
• Non-target effects may be expressed as benefits as well as costs.
4. Short-Term and Long-Term Effects
• When will the benefits or the costs be felt? Is the program designed
for short-term emergencies? Or is it a long-term, developmental
effort? If it is short term, what will prevent the processes of
incrementalism and bureaucratization from turning it into a long-
term program, even after the immediate need is met?

5. Calculating Net Benefits and Costs

• It would be all the benefits, both immediate and long range, minus
all the costs, both immediate and future.
 EVALUATION:
WHAT GOVERNMENT USUALLY DO?
• Hearings and Report
• Site visit
• Program Measures
• Comparison with Professional Standard
• Evaluation of Citizen Complains
• Surveys of Public Opinion

EVALUATION:
SUGGESTION WHAT GOVERNMENT CAN DO?
• Before versus after comparison
• Comparisons Between Control and Experimental
Groups Before and After Program Implementation
 Any other evaluation
that you want to
suggest?
What you have in mind?
THANK YOU