Deliberative Policymaking

A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year

In Deliberative Policymaking, Elizabeth Grant advances a fresh framework for making collective decisions about US schools. Grant argues that education policy can be made better by improving education policymaking methods. Informed by accounts of policymaking actions as well as her own experience, she offers a keen assessment of which components of existing education policy and policymaking have been effective and which have not.

Grant presents new approaches to the craft of policymaking. She endorses policy design thinking, including user-centered design; greater attention to education statecraft, such as reinforcing federal-state relations; and partnering with intermediaries who can help policymakers determine where the public interest lies. She underscores how these practices support democratized policymaking and implementation, which can lead to more inclusive, equitable policy.

Grant notes that the success of policy work depends on civic capacity to initiate and sustain improvement efforts, and on policy's ability to meet the demands of the time. This book is essential for anyone who makes policy or is interested in education reform.