Question

Write a paragraph (100-200 words) about what you believe is the political agenda and goal of the special interests group that released the infographic? Explain why.

Answer 1

The special interests group that released the poster is most likely interested in the passage of the "Student Success Act." The act appears to be a piece of legislation that will strengthen the power of states to monitor learning goals and outcomes, as opposed to following federal norms. In this way, they hope to be able to protect local autonomy. Their justification is the fact that students are not graduating with the necessary knowledge and skills. Moreover, they argue that the act will benefit teachers and parents by giving them more options when choosing a school, but also by giving them the necessary tools to hold the schools accountable.

Answer 2

A political agenda is a list of subjects or problems to which governmental officials as well as individuals outside the government, are paying serious attention to at any given time.[1] It is most often shaped by political and policy elites, but can also be influenced by non-governmental activist groups, private sector lobbyists, think tanks, courts, and world events.[2]There are varying theories on who truly decides the political agenda including: pluralist theory, elitist theory, and institutional theory. Each have different basic assumptions.

The media is another factor that effects the political agenda. Global studies have found that when certain issues are covered more heavily in the media, such as through different news outlets like the radio or the newspaper, the issue is more likely to be discussed by members of parliament.[3] Media coverage has also been linked to the success of the rise of political parties and their ability to get their ideas on the agenda.[3] Although the media does often have an effect on the political agenda, these results are not always immediate. When there is a great time difference between decisions and results it is called a political agenda lag.

Political agenda is also strongly tied to state centralization. The more centralized a state, the more citizens will likely try and affect the political agenda.[4] For this reason, many political elites tend to prefer a non-centralized state where they can maintain more control over the political agenda.[4]

The “Political Agenda Effect” asserts that when citizens from different backgrounds get together, their agenda will change in a way that takes their demands away from elites to focus more on public goods.[4] The “Escalation Effect” contends that if citizens get together, this will induce elites to form national resources to fight against them and maintain the political agenda the way they desire.[4]

The impact agenda is the increasing requirements for researchers to prove that there are real world impacts from their research. It is related to the political agenda because often governments measure a positive real world impact only in terms of the political agenda they have. [5] When it comes to building the political agenda, there are three main models which are commonly cited: the outside initiative model, mobilization model, and inside initiative model.