Detection of the Perceptual Gap between Experts and Public for the Successful Implementation of New Policies: Evidence from the Educational Policy Development

Jin Suk Lee,Tae Ho Song

doi:10.3390/su14052898

Abstract

Understanding the difference between the viewpoints of experts and the public and communicating are very important processes to prevent wasteful conflicts and achieve successful implementation of new policies. This study compares the structures of perceptions representing the views of experts and the public as subjects in research papers and newspaper articles of national education policy using semantic network analysis and overlay mapping. Data are collected from the Korean education system, where it is convenient to collect national-level educational policy data. The results show the group of education experts showed great interest in the core concepts of the revised curriculum and its implementation, focusing on abstract theories, whereas the public showed greater interest in practical problems and the outcomes of the revision rather than the process of revision of the curriculum. It clearly highlights the differences in and causes of the reactions of experts and the views of the public to newly developed national education policies, thereby presenting implications for the successful design of important national programs that include education policies for the future.

Highlights

The argument that there is a vast difference in the risk perceptions of experts and the public about the introduction and change of new policies or technologies is accepted as common knowledge
Research papers frequently included keywords related to essential concepts of education such as “curriculum revision”, “competency”, “curriculum education”, “achievement”, “instructor”, “method”, “evaluation”, “core content”, “process focus”, “integrated education”, and “creative convergence”, while newspaper articles included keywords pertaining to relatively direct and realistic educational issues, such as “textbook”, “math course”, “science”, “course”, “site”, “nationalization”, “Korean SAT”, “elementary/middle/high school”, “society”, and “problem”
We presented implications for the successful development of education policy by assessing the differences in the reaction and formation of experts’ perspectives on and public perceptions of new education policies and suggested ways to resolve them

Summary

Introduction

The argument that there is a vast difference in the risk perceptions of experts and the public about the introduction and change of new policies or technologies is accepted as common knowledge. The “information gap” between experts’ evaluation of changes and the public’s perception of the same has been often regarded as a key mediating factor in social and political conflicts triggered by new policies or technologies in various fields, and the resolution of these differences is crucial to the successful introduction of them [2–4]. The process of policy creation and development tends to be led by experts [5], and individuals demanding for policy are relatively excluded. Regarding this phenomenon, Gilbert and Terrel [6] argue that it is necessary to minimize the errors attributed to the group of experts that excludes major users of policy by reflecting the public’s point of view during policy development. Efforts to narrow the gap by identifying the level of awareness and perspectives of the public pertaining to

Methods

Results

Conclusion