Article

Brokering Inequity: Knowledge Distribution as Policy Limitation

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Abstract

Little is known about the role of intermediary organizations (IOs) in knowledge mobilization for education policymaking. By consequence, community, family, student, and educator voices are at risk of further marginalization. This study uses document analysis and bibliometrics to explore the knowledge base circulated by federally-funded IOs to influence powerholders at the state level. Findings indicate a high degree of overlap between the research promoted by federally-funded IOs and the research cited within state education agencies’ equitable access plans. Federally-funded IOs elevated research evidence that valued policy ideas related to human capital management and neglected others, such as the working conditions for teaching and learning. This research has implications for knowledge utilization in educational policymaking, particularly in the context of state and federal power. The ways in which federally-funded IOs advance policy ideas that are in line with federal policy priorities reinforces the importance of examining whose knowledge is shared and how this knowledge filters into state policy ideas.

Keywords: intermediary organizations, knowledge brokers, state equity plans, Excellent Educators for All, human capital management, effective educators

How to Cite:

Hollar, J. R., (2020) “Brokering Inequity: Knowledge Distribution as Policy Limitation”, Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis 10(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/jctp.11469