What are policy layers?
Ontario's publicly funded education system - acknowledged as among the best in the world - relies on detailed, prescriptive policies to "develop graduates who are personally successful, economically productive and actively engaged citizens" (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014). Policies are "written" by government, but "done" by people in schools, unfolding through “politics in action” in the form of complex micro-physics, not large-scale events or interventions (Ball, Maguire & Braun, 2012, p. 3). Extensive education policy reform has occurred in most industrialized nations, as governments attempt to improve systems outcomes by issuing more (and often more prescriptive) policy (Clarke, 2013). In some jurisdictions (including Ontario), this has resulted in “policy layers” (Pinto, 2015; Pinto & Brard, 2014) – assemblages of related or unrelated policy that attempts to direct practice in schools. The layers accumulate over time, leaving educators responsible for enacting multiple policies simultaneously in their day-to-day work. |
Despite growing interest in studying policy, relatively few have investigated the enactment of multiple policies at the same time (Ball et al., 2012). Single-policy enactment research fails to capture actors’ holistic experiences in managing multiple, competing and even contradictory policy demands, since actors rarely (if ever) deal exclusively with a single policy. Examining simultaneous enactment of multiple policies provides a more authentic view of what educators face and how they make meaning of policy. The holistic investigation of policy layers in the proposed research will shed light on prioritization and interpretation of policy as it occurs in real-world settings.
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Why do policy layers matter?
Little is known about how schools and individuals are affected by and enact (that is, learn about, cope with, prioritize and interpret) the multitude of policies. Yet, understanding how the layers operate addresses essential questions about what occurs in schools. Each education policy has the potential to shape what occurs in schools - ranging from what is taught and what learned, how things are taught/learned, where students find themselves within the organization, working conditions and working relationshops, power dynamics, and more.
Some of the important questions that a knowledge of policy layer enactment can answer include: how does policy enactment shape work, learning, interactions, and leadership in schools? Which policies receive the most/least attention and why? Are policies enacted as “intended” by those who produced them? Why or why not? How do contextual and political factors influence enactment?
Some of the important questions that a knowledge of policy layer enactment can answer include: how does policy enactment shape work, learning, interactions, and leadership in schools? Which policies receive the most/least attention and why? Are policies enacted as “intended” by those who produced them? Why or why not? How do contextual and political factors influence enactment?
Policies, policies, policies
Here, you'll find a selection of just some of the policies that impact daily life in Ontario schools and classrooms. Click on the thumbnails to be redirected to the policy page.