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Professor probes public policy, education |
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Deanna Woolf |
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Sep 14, 2005 |
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| Dr. Carter Wilson |
Public policy — an intangible item whose manifestations are completely changing. You can’t put it in a test tube, give it a poke or shake it around a bit to see how it works. A researcher needs the patience to sit back, relax and let it run its course, while gathering and analyzing data.
And that strategy is just fine with Dr. Carter Wilson, who seems to delight in public policy research. In addition to co-writing a study on education in the state of Ohio, he is the author of a new textbook that helps college students wade through the tumultuous sea of policy history and trends.
The book, Public Policy: Continuity & Change, is the result of three years’ effort to examine and forward a new theory on public policy. The publisher, McGraw-Hill, approached Wilson, professor of political science and public administration, after one of the book salespeople encouraged him to write a proposal. The work was originally an article in the Journal of Public Policy, which Wilson developed into a theory and then the book.
Wilson’s theory is a possible explanation to the “punctuated equilibrium theory” forwarded by researcher Bryan Jones. “His theory states that public policy is stable over time and changes abruptly and profoundly in short spurts,” he explained, offering the example of the New Deal era. Wilson’s policy regime theory goes a step further. It states, “Public policy is based on stable patterns of political power and the presence of a dominant policy paradigm … At certain points, the political power and policy models will shift, resulting in the rapid and abrupt changes.” Such things as economic crises, technology changes and social movements can affect the political power and paradigms.
Perhaps Wilson’s educational work will affect the very public policies he writes about. “A Status Report on Education Attainment of People of Color in Two Ohio Cities: Cincinnati and Toledo” was published in spring through the UT Urban Affairs Center. Dr. Esther Erkins, associate director of the University of Cincinnati Institute for Community Partnerships and assistant professor of African and African-American studies, co-wrote the study with Wilson.
“Most of the findings I expected — the data merely confirmed my suspicions,” Wilson said of the research. Both Toledo and Cincinnati public school systems showed very low math and science proficiency scores and high dropout rates. The two also noted African-American and Hispanic students were less likely to complete high school core courses and were more likely to need remedial courses in college.
Looking at the results, he and Erkins issued several recommendations to policy-makers and educators. Among them: Make sure college preparatory course demands are known and put more effort into math and science education. “I am encouraged to see improvements in districts, but I’m not optimistic about funding in an era of declining public resources,” he said.
Wilson is working on a follow-up study to track students once they leave universities and go into the job market. He’s also investigating how family background affects one’s public policy preference.
Wilson will put together a follow-up study to track students once they leave the University and enter the job market. Assisting him will be Dr. Patrick McGuire, professor of sociology; Dr. Svetlana Beltyokova visiting assistant professor of foundations of education; Dr. Mary Ellen Edwards, professor of foundations of education; and Dr. Dagmar Morales, director of Latino initiatives.
In a separate study, Wilson will investigate how family background affects one’s public policy preference.
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