Organizations in Education Policy and Politics

Organizations have been a constant in the development and the evolution of K–12 public education in the United States and around the world. This chapter discusses the institutional landscape of intermediary organizations (IOs), which are nonstate entities that work between and within systems of K–12 public education, state and county offices of education, and individual schools. The authors map the theoretical landscape for studying organizations and trace its expansion to include critical perspectives on race, gender, and power. They offer a typology to understand the form and function of these organizations as they relate to formal public and educational policymaking entities and processes. Next, the authors provide case discussions of four organizational types: (a) professional organizations, (b) consultants and contractors, (c) charter management organizations, and (d) community-based and parent advocacy organizations, and review the literature on their purposes, functions, and effects. The authors conclude with a brief discussion of the implications of these cases for the study of organizations, and they make recommendations for future study.

Keywords: organizations; education policy; politics; school choice; community