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Implementing Change in an Urban School District: A Case Study of the Reorganization of the Little Rock School District
Author(s) -
Howard Joseph Y.,
Wrobel Sharon L.,
Nitta Keith A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02229.x
Subject(s) - ambiguity , bureaucracy , school district , order (exchange) , comparative case , process (computing) , public administration , political science , public relations , sociology , business , pedagogy , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , finance , politics , law , programming language , operating system
In July 2005, the Little Rock, Arkansas, school district implemented a new policy to reorganize its management structure in order to create a more efficient bureaucracy. Using Richard Matland’s ambiguity‐conflict model of policy implementation, the authors examine the implementation of this school reorganization policy. Interviews and surveys were conducted with the superintendent and his executive assistants, school principals, teachers, and staff. In line with Matland’s model, the findings suggest that successful implementation is directly related to the policy characteristics of ambiguity and conflict. However, the authors point to the importance of recognizing particular characteristics for different groups of stakeholders within the policy implementation process. Discrepancies among groups of policy actors in the degree of policy ambiguity and policy conflict lead to strikingly different implementation strategies.