The Effect of Groups and Individuals on National Decisionmaking
Influence and Domination in the Reading Policymaking Environment
Julie E. McDaniel
Oakland, MI, Schools
Cecil G. Miskel
University of Michigan
CIERA Inquiry 3: Policy and Profession
How do relationships among groups and individuals in the national reading policy domain affect the centrality and prestige--and hence the influence--of those actors?
Policy domain study highlights the effect of location on network influence. Previous research has indicated a relationship between the groups and individuals with the strongest influence reputation and the location of these groups within the environment. In the reading policy environment, such groups interact with one another in formal joint projects and informal collaborations. But regardless of the type of interaction, the relationships that these actors form with one another have an effect on their prominence--their centrality and prestige--in the national reading policy domain. Using this rationale, the hypothesis guiding this study is as follows: Central policy actors will be perceived to be more influential than peripheral policy actors in shaping national reading policy.
University of Michigan School of Education
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This paper was originally presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association Seattle, WA.