The Politics of Designing Tuition-Free College: How Socially Constructed Target Populations Influence Policy Support

Autor/in	Bell, Elizabeth
Titel	The Politics of Designing Tuition-Free College: How Socially Constructed Target Populations Influence Policy Support
Quelle	In: Journal of Higher Education, 91 (2020) 6, S.888-926 (39 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-1546
DOI	10.1080/00221546.2019.1706015
Schlagwörter	Tuition; Educational Policy; Higher Education; Grade Point Average; High School Students; Low Income Groups; Politics of Education; Public Opinion; Equal Education; Policy Analysis; Geographic Regions; Age Differences; National Surveys; Family Income + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Unterweisung; Unterricht; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Educational policy; Öffentliche Meinung; Politikfeldanalyse; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Familieneinkommen
Abstract	As tuition-free college policies spread rapidly across the states, an increasingly important policy debate has emerged regarding the optimal policy design of tuition-free college. However, existing scholarly evidence has focused almost exclusively on student outcomes, leaving the political decision-making processes among the public and policymakers unexamined. In this article, I leverage a nationally representative survey experiment and policy design theory to explore the power of social constructions of target populations in shaping a cornerstone of politically feasible tuition-free college--public opinion. In line with theoretical expectations, the analysis reveals that including a minimum high school GPA requirement increased support for tuition-free college, while targeting benefits to low-income families reduced perceptions of fairness, relative to a universal policy design. The findings also reveal that the effect of policy design on public perceptions of tuition-free college is moderated by region and age. Together, these findings reveal how a nationally representative sample of the public view the key policy design debates on tuition-free college and demonstrate the importance of social constructions of target populations for the study of higher education policy processes. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01