Understanding Agenda Setting in State Educational Policy - An Application of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model to the Formation of State Reading Policy

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

Drawing on interview data from reading policy actors in California, Michigan, and Texas, the study applies Kingdon’s multiple streams model to explain how reading policy became prominent on the state government agenda in the late 1990s. It identifies feedback from parents, teachers, and business groups, student achievement data, political pressure from state administrations, and sustained regional and national interest. The findings also highlight beliefs about reading as a building block for success and perceptions linking declining reading achievement to public school failure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Agenda setting in state policy

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal
Arizona State University
| | --- | | Volume 18 Number 15 July 10th, 2010 ISSN 1068–2341 | | Understanding Agenda Setting in State Educational Policy: An Application of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model to the
Formation of State Reading Policy1
Tamara V. Young
North Carolina State University
Thomas V. Shepley
New Leaders New Schools, Greater New Orleans
Mengli Song
American Institutes for Research
Citation: Young, T. V., Shepley, T. V. , & Song, M. (2010) . Understanding agenda setting in state educational policy: An application of Kingdon’s multiple streams model to the formation of state reading policy. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 18(15) . Retrieved [date], from [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/771](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/771)
Abstract: Drawing on interview data from reading policy actors in California, Michigan, and Texas, this study applied Kingdon’s (1984, 1995) multiple streams model to explain how the issue of reading became prominent on the agenda of state governments during the latter half of the 1990s. A combination of factors influenced the status of a state’s reading policy agenda, including feedback from parents, teachers, and business groups; student achievement data; political pressure from the state administration; regional and national interest; a pervasive belief that reading is a building block for student success; and a widespread perception that the decline in reading achievement was symbolic of the failure of public schools. In addition, governors promoted reading to high agenda prominence by influencing which issues were placed on the decision agenda (agenda setting) and which alternatives were given serious attention (alternative specification) . Finally, the findings | 1 Accepted under the editorship of Sherman Dorn. Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 18 No. 15 2 suggest that the applicability of Kingdon’s national-level model to the state level may depend on both the issue being examined and the participation of the state executive branch. Keywords: politics of education; policy formation; reading. Comprendiendo los procesos de definición de las agendas en política educativas estatales: Una aplicación del modelo de Kingdon de flujos múltiples en la formulación de políticas de lectura del estado. Resumen: Tomando como base datos de entrevistas con actores en el área de políticas sobre lectura en los estados de Michigan, California y Texas, este estudio utilizó el modelo de flujos múltiples de Kingdon (1984, 1995) para explicar cómo el área de lectura llegó a ser prominente en la agenda delos gobiernos estatales durante la segunda mitad de los años 90. Una combinación de factoresinfluyeron para establecer las agenda políticas estatales de lectura, incluyendo comentarios de padres, profesores y grupos económicos, el rendimiento escolar; la presión política de la administraciónestatal, además de grupos de presión a nivel regional y nacional. Otros factores que tambiéncontribuyeron fueron la creencia que la lectura es la base para el éxito de los estudiantes y la percepción que la disminución del rendimiento en el área de lectura representa simbólicamente, el fracaso de las escuelas públicas. Por otra parte, el Gobierno promovió la lectura al principio orden del día, que influyen en qué temas se colocaron en la agenda de decisión (definición de personal) y qué alternativas deben recibir más atención. Por último, los resultados sugieren que la utilización del modelo de Kingdon del nivel nacional para el nivel estatal depende tanto de la cuestión que se examina como de la participación del poder ejecutivo en el estado Palabras-clave: políticas da educación; formación de políticas; lectura Compreendendo a definição de agendas de política educacional do estado: Uma aplicaçãodo modelo de correntes múltiplas de Kingdon na formação da

FAQs

What framework does the study use to analyze state reading policy formation?

It applies Kingdon’s multiple streams model to explain how the issue of reading became prominent on state government agendas.

Which factors influenced a state’s reading policy agenda?

Factors include feedback from parents, teachers, and business groups, student achievement data, political pressure from state administrations, and regional and national interest.

What does the study suggest about applying Kingdon’s model at the state level?

The applicability depends on both the specific issue examined and the participation of the state executive branch.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda