When I began watching the video (DeVoogd, 2018) and reading Lipsky (2010), I realized I wasn’t sure what the definition of a street level bureaucrat is. I thought it was the same as the as the “anonymous bureaucrat” described by Rippner (2016), but when I looked it up and got the definition, I found I was incorrect. I am clearly an anonymous bureaucrat, but I don't think I’m a street level bureaucrat. According to Lipsky (1969), street level bureaucrats are the intermediaries between the government and the public; their jobs are to implement policy but rarely have formal responsibility for the development or evaluation of it. In public higher education, these are the people who work directly with students and parents, particularly in places like service centers where people buy parking passes, get IDs, and add money to debit cards; financial aid offices; and student health centers. I’m convinced that unlike public school teachers, faculty are not street level bureaucrats as they d
Education research has important impacts on all four stages of the policy process. In the first stage, policy context and information gathering, policymakers may commission research and/or use existing research. In the second stage of policy definition, policymakers use research as they draft the policy. During the third stage of policy implementation, transparency and communication about the policy, including the research it’s based on, is crucial for all stakeholders. The fourth stage, policy evaluation, is education research in an of itself. Yet, challenges persist. Rippner (2016) explains that “making connections between policymakers and researchers is not simple” (p. 154) and each party tends to distrust and blame the other. She suggests that “university departments, colleges, and/or centers could have dedicated professionals experiences in translating research for lay audiences and identifying appropriate communication channels” (p. 168). This is a fascinating suggestion, in