Public policy has recently become a widely discussed issue. You hear about new policies on TV, read in newspapers, hear people discussing them in transport, and even discuss it with your relatives during family dinner. Why is it so important and what is public policy? Public policy can be generally defined as a “system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives” (Kilpatrick, 2000) and its importance cannot be exaggerated as far as “public policy impacts just about everything in our lives, both directly and indirectly” (Kraft & Furlong, 2009). Public policies affect our education, health care, employment, social welfare, environment, life of our children and our grandparents. As Clarke E. Cochran (2009) stated it: “Indeed, public policy in America affects a vast range of activities, from nuclear warheads to bathroom plumbing, from arresting lawbreakers to providing medical care for the elderly” (p.1).
Of course public policies affect my daily life as far as they determine the taxes I should pay, the money I earn, the food I eat, and other routine issues. Taking into account the fact that I work in educational system, I am really concerned about the policies directed at education. Recently I have read an article on the blog of the Journal of Public Policy (2012) about the Chicago Teacher’s Union Strike evoked by the proposal to change how teacher performance is evaluated. Of course, this issue is crucial as the education of our nation’s children is of high importance; however, this is the kind of change that cannot be applied in a flash. The problem is that “numerous public school systems lack a rigorous mechanism for holding public administrators and teachers accountable” (Journal of Public Policy, 2012), thus the policy requires reshaping and strict rules and mechanisms to make it work.
To sum it up, we can say that public policy accompanies almost every action in our lives. Public policy is supposed to make our life better and more comfortable.
However, sometimes the measures are taken too soon without clear examination of the situation and need reshaping.
References
Cochran, C.E., Mayer, L.C., Carr, T.R., & Cayer, N.J. (2009). American Public
Policy:An Introduction (9th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Connolly , J. (2012). Holding Teachers Accountable for Student Outcomes: Is It Time to
Think Outside the Box? The official blog for the Journal of Public Policy. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://jpublicpolicy.com/2012/09/25/holding-teachers-accountable-for-st udent-outcomes-is-it-time-to-think-outside-the-box/" http://jpublicpolicy.com/2012/09/25/holding-teachers-accountable-for-stu dent-outcomes-is-it-time-to-think-outside-the-box/
Kilpatrick, G . (2000). Definitions of Public Policy and the Law. National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center. Retrieved from HYPERLINK "http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml" http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml
Kraft M. E, & Furlong S. R. (2010). Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives (3th ed.). Washington: CQ …