Education Policy State by State Outcomes

This comparative analysis contrasts Rhode Island and Florida, on the one hand, with South Carolina on the other. Variables used in the comparative analysis include political culture, geography, voting policies, citizen referendums, and policy outcomes.
II. Comparative Analysis: State
Political Culture
Political culture refers to norms, attitudes, and beliefs “about the functions and expectations of the government,” (“State Political Culture,” n.d.). Demographics have a strong bearing on political culture, as political culture is often an extension of other cultural variables. The most common model for classifying American political cultures is the Elazar model. The Elazar model proposes three types of political culture: the moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic. Using the Elazar model, South Carolina and Florida are classified as traditionalistic, whereas Rhode Island is classified as individualistic (“State Political Culture,” n.d.).
Geographic Areas
According to the United States Census, as of 2010, Rhode Island is less than ten percent rural in terms of population. Just over 60% of Rhode Island’s total land mass is classified as rural too. One-third of South Carolina’s population, on the other hand, is rural, and 92% of the state’s total area is rural. Florida is more similar to Rhode Island in that less than ten percent of the population lives rurally, but 86% of the land mass is rural.
Citizen Initiatives
Neither South Carolina nor Rhode Island offer citizens initiative rights, and Florida only offers initiatives for amendments to state constitution (“States with Initiative or Referendum,” (n.d.).
Policy Outcomes
State by state comparisons can be made in the ways different states performed after educational policies were passed. For example, the Department of Education (2011) shows how South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Florida are all roughly even in terms of actual student outcomes after the implementation of specific educational policy.
III. Comparative Analysis: Policy
Focusing more specifically on the policy problem of teacher shortages, the state-by-state comparison yields important information about how geography and political culture affect policy outcome.
Political Culture
States will propose different strategies for dealing with teacher shortages, depending on their political culture. Florida, for example, is offering stipends for teachers who are willing to fulfill certain specific shortage areas (Quinton, 2017). However, Florida may be one of the states reducing the qualifications needed to teach in order to address the shortage (Learning Policy Institute, n.d.). Rhode Island has been granting emergency certificates, and South Carolina is similarly offering “alternative certification” methods (Learning Policy Institute, n.d.).
Geography
Although both urban and rural regions and schools are experiencing teacher shortages, rural regions suffer the most from shortages (Aragon, 2016). Therefore, there are variations in policy outcomes, but not ones that reflect a clear urban versus rural divide.
Political Climate and Party Competition
Evidence shows “the type of education reform a state chooses will be significantly affected by a state’s electoral dynamics, that is, the extent to which there is political competition or party dominance in a given state,” (Wong & Shen, 2002, p. 161). Some of the methods used to reduce teacher shortages will vary between states due to party competition and differences in political culture. However, many issues linked to teacher shortages are more global in scope such as budget allocations and structural supports for new recruits. Policy outcomes will vary depending on the type of policy and how it is being implemented.






References

Aragon, S. (2016). Teacher shortages: what we know. Education Commission. https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Teacher-Shortages-What-We-Know.pdf
Learning Policy Institute (n.d.). Uncertified teachers and teacher vacancies by state. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/uncertified-teachers-and-teacher-vacancies-state
Quinton, S. (2017). Teacher shortages linger in many states. The Pew Charitable Trusts. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2017/12/28/teacher-shortages-linger-in-many-states
“State Political Culture,” (n.d.). OER Services: American Government. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-amgovernment/chapter/state-political-culture/
“States with Initiative or Referendum,” (n.d.). Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum
United States Census (2010). Urban and rural population by state. https://cber.cba.ua.edu/edata/census2010/Urban%20Rural%20by%20State%202010%20short%20ver.xls
United States Department of Education (2011). Educational performance of states. https://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/state-of-states/index.html
Wong, K.K. & Shen, F.X. (2002). Politics of state-led reform in education. Educational Policy 16(1): 161-192.