Implementing policy for homeless kids in schools: reassessing the micro and macro levels in the policy debate in Australia

This study suggests that the debate over the nature of policy is far from resolved. The extent to which the extremes of the debate about the role of the state in policy, about interpretations about power in policy process and about the differential nature of fine‐grained examinations of policy at the local level versus larger scale theorizing, affect interpretation are questioned. Based on a case study of the implementation of a policy dealing with homeless student in four Victorian, Australia, High schools, this paper suggests that the conceptualizations of the state and understanding the nature of power relations in policy process are more complex than any other authors have suggested. The analysis of the policy implementation process showed that whilst at certain times the power of the state appeared to be crucial and central, at other times the power of the state was decentred and significantly reduced, with power and control of policy being refocused at the school level.

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Brian Corbitt

Brian Corbitt is Head of Electronic Commerce and a Senior Lecturer in Management in the Department of Management at Monash University, Australia. He specializes in teaching and researching the roles sexuality and gender in the management process, educational management and policy, managing occupational health, especially AIDS issues, and in change management. He was formerly a High School Principal before completing a PhD in policy management and implementation with specific reference to homeless students, on which he has widely published.