Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Advance Access published online on May 30, 2009
Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, doi:10.1093/jopart/mup008
Understanding the Political Context of "New" Policy Issues: The Use of the Advocacy Coalition Framework in the Case of Expanded After-School Programs
New York University
Office of Financial Empowerment, New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
New York University
Address correspondence to the author at charles.brecher{at}nyu.edu.
This article uses the Advocacy Coalition Framework to identify the stakeholders and their coalitions in the arena of after-school policy, which drew much new attention beginning in the early 1990s in many American cities. Using evidence from case studies in five cities, we show how the framework can be extended beyond stakeholder analysis to include identification of core and secondary value conflicts and of opportunities for policy analysis to help strengthen coalitions and pressures for change. Coalitions in each of the cities differ over core values relating to the purposes of after-school programs (academics versus "fun"), but policy analysts can promote common goals by developing options to deal with the secondary conflicts over the relative importance of facilities versus program content, the modes of collaboration between public schools and community based organizations, and the incentives for public school teachers to engage in staffing after-school programs.