Education Policy-makers From Research Reports To Policy Formation Model

Educational policy is an important way for a nation to plan; direct; coordinate and control the education cause. A scientific and reasonable educational policy can contribute to the development of education. Now, policy making of general education both in the theory and in the practice needs to be improved. So it is necessary to use the advanced policymaking model of general education in west developed countries for reference.In 1980's, National Commission on Excellence in Education submitted A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. It is one of the most widely disseminated and the most famous research reports in U. S. history. It has influenced on the American subsequent educational reform in 1980's deeply. Moreover, it has played an important role in the cause of educational policymaking.Many factors resulted in the release of A Nation at Risk such as the social and political factors, economic factors, scientific factors and educational factors. All the content of A Nation at Risk can be divided into eleven parts. The two parts of the investigative outcomes and the proposals have become the main body. A Nation at Risk stresses "excellence in education". Its 40 or so recommendations focused on five areas: stronger content; higher standards and expectations; more time for learning, more effectively used; better prepared, rewarded, and respected teachers; and responsible national, state, and local leadership.The released report make the government attach great importance to education, getting the civil attention. Furthermore, American federal and state governments went at setting down the educational excellence-oriented policy on the basis of A Nation at Risk.We can sum up the course from research reports to policymaking. To begin with, National Commission on Excellence in Education sponsored by Secretary Bell, released A Nation at Risk. Secondly, after the released report, governments at all levels began to attach great importance to education. On the other hand, a good many comments, proposals to improve education and similar research reports unprecedented were come forth. Finally, federal or state governments select the best of all the policy projects offered by research institutions.Though the analysis of the course from research reports to policymaking, we can conclude a policymaking model characterized representational,implementary and concise advantages. This model can associate the top-down state with the down-top state in practice. Suitable scene, decision-maker, think tank and media play an important role in the model.This policymaking model has impressed on American general education. The functions brought by the model are as follows: firstly, we can make full use of education experts and elites as long as we obey the policymaking guidelines; secondly, the policy through this model can be practical and can useful to solve the educational problems; finally, if we depend on the demands from the bottom to set down educational policies, it will conveniently communicate from down to up and will bridge the gap between the practice and the policy text. Certainly, there are some defaults in this model. On the one hand, think tank is apt to become the prolocutors for interest group. On the other hand, some experts' true ideas can't be reflected into the educational policy.From the comparison between American educational excellence-oriented policy policymaking model and our policymaking practice, we can conclude some revelations. Namely, in the policymaking courses, we should sweep up the way for public opinions from down to top. It is imperative to standardize the referring system of think tank. Decision-maker's positive function should be brought into play. Additional, we should put the educational policy cycle to come on under control.