This article outlines the rationale for this special issue on educational policy implementation and provides an overview of the articles in this issue. In addition to summarizing each article, we point out how the findings from the different contributions complement, challenge, and complicate not only the findings and conclusions from other works in this issue, but also insights articulated by Honig (2006) and Odden (1991). We conclude with a discussion of the implications from these articles for educational policy implementation research.
AndersonJ.E. (1975). Public Policy-Making, New York: Praeger.
2.
CrossanM. M.LaneH. W.WhiteR. E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 522-537.
3.
ElmoreR. F. (1983). Complexity and control: What legislators and administrators can do about implementing public policy. In ShulmanL.SykesG. (Eds.), Handbook of Teaching andPolicy (pp. 342-369). New York: Longman
4.
FixsenD. L.NaoomS. F.BlaseK. A.FriedmanR. M.WallaceF. (2005). Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231).
5.
HillM. J.HupeP. L. (2002). Implementing public policy: governance in theory and practice. London: Sage.
6.
HonigM. I.HatchT. C. (2004). Crafting coherence: How schools strategically manage m multiple, external demands. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 16-30.
7.
JacobsenR.YoungT. V. (2013). The new politics of accountability: Research in retrospect and prospect. Educational Policy, 27(2), 155-169. doi:10.1177/0895904813478164
8.
HonigM. I. (2006). Complexity and policy implementation: Challenges and opportunities for the field. In HonigM. I. (Ed), New Directions in Education Policy Implementation: Confronting Complexity (pp. 1-24). State University of New York Press, Albany.
9.
OddenA. (1991). The evolution of education policy implementation. In OddenA. (Ed.). Education Policy Implementation. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
10.
OddenA.MarshD. (1988). How comprehensive reform legislation can improve secondary schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 593-598.
11.
O’TooleL. J. (2000). Research on policy implementation: Assessment and prospects. Journal of public administration research and theory, 10(2), 263-288.
12.
PuddyR. W.WilkinsN. (2011). Understanding Evidence Part 1:Best Available Research Evidence. A Guide to the Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
13.
TyackD.CubanW. (1994) The “Grammar” of Schooling: Why Has it Been so Hard to Change?American Educational Research Journal, 31(3), 453-479 doi: 10.3102/00028312031003453
