Intent Versus Result: Policy Implications for Equity
Type of Presentation
Paper
Location
D34115
Start Date
3-31-2023 10:30 AM
End Date
3-31-2023 11:30 AM
Abstract
The journey to ensuring and maintaining equality for all people has proven to be a long and elusive path that, seemingly, never ends. Civil rights laws, over the course of many years, have been watered down and chipped away due to of court challenges and varying interpretations. This giving and taking away process, taking place since the end of slavery, has shown a pattern that may be indicative of the future. The purpose of this study is to understand the changes in civil rights and how strategies to erode these rights have affected public administrators’ decisions, pertaining to the implementation of policies and procedures, that are based upon how laws are written and how rhetoric is perceived. A qualitative approach will be used along with interviews and a critical discourse analysis. This analytical technique shows how language shapes discursive and socio-cultural practices. The technique allows for a deeper look into power dynamics that may result in marginalization (Fairclough, 1989, 1995a, 1995b; as cited in McCandless & Elias, 2020). Public administrators, of all races and ages, will be studied in Illinois. The study is expected to begin by August 2023. Anthony Giddens’ Theory of Structuration will be used for this study. This theory explains that social structures, that have been put in place, constrain some people while enabling others. These constraints foster freedom and power for some people while denying freedom and power to others. These social structures are left in place when they do what society intends (Giddens, 1984).
Intent Versus Result: Policy Implications for Equity
D34115
The journey to ensuring and maintaining equality for all people has proven to be a long and elusive path that, seemingly, never ends. Civil rights laws, over the course of many years, have been watered down and chipped away due to of court challenges and varying interpretations. This giving and taking away process, taking place since the end of slavery, has shown a pattern that may be indicative of the future. The purpose of this study is to understand the changes in civil rights and how strategies to erode these rights have affected public administrators’ decisions, pertaining to the implementation of policies and procedures, that are based upon how laws are written and how rhetoric is perceived. A qualitative approach will be used along with interviews and a critical discourse analysis. This analytical technique shows how language shapes discursive and socio-cultural practices. The technique allows for a deeper look into power dynamics that may result in marginalization (Fairclough, 1989, 1995a, 1995b; as cited in McCandless & Elias, 2020). Public administrators, of all races and ages, will be studied in Illinois. The study is expected to begin by August 2023. Anthony Giddens’ Theory of Structuration will be used for this study. This theory explains that social structures, that have been put in place, constrain some people while enabling others. These constraints foster freedom and power for some people while denying freedom and power to others. These social structures are left in place when they do what society intends (Giddens, 1984).