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Policy Sciences
Published in: Policy Sciences 4/2015

26-09-2015 | Research Article

Policy logics, framing strategies, and policy change: lessons from universal pre-k policy debates in California and Florida

Authors: Linda A. White, Adrienne Davidson, Heather Millar, Milena Pandy, Juliana Yi

Published in: Policy Sciences | Issue 4/2015

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Abstract

This article examines the dynamics underpinning universal pre-kindergarten policy debates in California and Florida in light of theories of policy investment, policy change, and sustainability of policy reforms. Because the expansion of prekindergarten raises key considerations about the appropriate role of the state in education and educational socialization experiences for young children, and because these investments involve significant budgetary outlays, they trigger two logics: a policy investment logic that leverages the power of evidence-based arguments and instrumentally rational calculations about costs and benefits of early years investments; and a cultural logic that rests on societal and policymakers’ views about and trust in the state vis-à-vis the family and market. Media analysis of public debates in California reveals that instrumentally rational arguments about the benefits of universal pre-k were trumped by arguments based on appeals to principled beliefs about appropriate levels of state involvement. It also finds that this policy area is particularly susceptible to challenges to the legitimacy of political leaders. These cases thus provide important insights into the kinds of complex political factors that go into getting and sustaining social policy investments over the long term.
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Footnotes
1
Ballot initiatives are a common form of participatory democracy in the USA and allow citizens to put forward petitions signed by a certain number of registered voters to force either a public vote or a legislative vote on a piece of legislation. In the case of the Preschool for All initiative, the question posed to voters was: “Should the California Constitution and state law be amended to create and support a new, publicly funded, voluntary preschool program for children to attend in the year prior to kindergarten, to be funded by an increase in personal income tax rates for high income individuals?” (Ballotpedia 2015b). Program funding was to be generated from a 1.7 per cent state income tax on the wealthiest Californians.
 
2
Spearheaded by Alex Penelas, then-Democratic mayor of Miami-Dade County, and officially sponsored by the Pre-K Committee, the 2002 proposed amendment to the state constitution gained enough signatures to be placed on the ballot for the November 2002 election (Bassok et al. 2014).
 
3
Using NVIVO, four researchers analyzed and coded articles from LA Times, Orange County Register, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Jose Mercury News from May 2004–December 2006. This date range encompasses the period one-year prior to the introduction of the proposition to six months after its defeat. The research team added codes inductively throughout the coding process and also automatically populated several nodes based on automatic text searches within NVIVO. After all sources were coded, all nodes were reviewed for consistency and were aggregated into broader themes where appropriate, or expanded into more detailed nodes where possible. Researchers also pulled and coded approximately 320 newspaper articles from five Florida newspapers using the same methods, but that analysis is not included in this case analysis.
 
4
In Florida, the majority of the public debate occurred after the ballot vote during legislative debates following the public acceptance of the ballot initiative while in California, policy discussion mostly occurred in the lead-up to the ballot.
 
5
Squires (2014) lists Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Vermont, and West Virginia.
 
6
Although those studies do not address a number of policy questions including optimal “dosage”, that is, length of school day, or whether programs should be targeted or made universally available (see White et al. 2015).
 
7
Policy instruments (Hall 1993) are the techniques used to attain UPK goals, such as teacher credentials, curriculum standards, or the types of permissible providers. Settings refer to distinct levels of instruments, for example, specific student–teacher ratios, or whether teachers need a B.Ed. or simply a certificate in child development.
 
8
As reported in circulation data from the Alliance for Audited Media.
 
9
To this effect, a court challenge was launched to force the state to include the cost of program on the ballot initiative, but it could not be retroactively applied to Amendment 9 or the UPK initiative.
 
10
Currently parents have an option of enrolling their children in either a 300 h summer program or a 540 h school year program (Barnett et al. 2015, p. 45).
 
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Metadata
Title
Policy logics, framing strategies, and policy change: lessons from universal pre-k policy debates in California and Florida
Authors
Linda A. White
Adrienne Davidson
Heather Millar
Milena Pandy
Juliana Yi
Publication date
26-09-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Policy Sciences / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0032-2687
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0891
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-015-9234-9

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