From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation
This article investigates how the design of policy reforms can influence their implementation, analyzing the case of initial teacher education and training (ITET) reforms in Italy. It addresses the following question: To what extent can the design of policy reforms, as codified in legal texts, help...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Policy Design and Practice |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2025.2498257 |
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| _version_ | 1850215021083099136 |
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| author | Anna Malandrino Maria Tullia Galanti Giovanni Barbato |
| author_facet | Anna Malandrino Maria Tullia Galanti Giovanni Barbato |
| author_sort | Anna Malandrino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article investigates how the design of policy reforms can influence their implementation, analyzing the case of initial teacher education and training (ITET) reforms in Italy. It addresses the following question: To what extent can the design of policy reforms, as codified in legal texts, help explain subsequent implementation failures? Building on a framework that draws together insights from the policy evaluation literature and the policy analysis literature, it focuses on three key dimensions of design as reflected in legal texts: precision, internal coherence, and external coherence. The framework is applied to a within-case comparison of five major ITET reforms enacted between 1989 and 2019. The study, conducted through qualitative text analysis and process tracing, reveals how unclear policy goals, internal inconsistencies between objectives and instruments, and especially misalignment with recruitment systems as well as financial and administrative capacities undermine implementation. By bridging evaluation and design perspectives, the article offers an ex ante approach to understanding how policies-as-written can anticipate implementation failures. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-caa1fc87ace44fa98f6237bdad3a316b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2574-1292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Policy Design and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-caa1fc87ace44fa98f6237bdad3a316b2025-08-20T02:08:45ZengTaylor & Francis GroupPolicy Design and Practice2574-12922025-01-018110612010.1080/25741292.2025.2498257From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementationAnna Malandrino0Maria Tullia Galanti1Giovanni Barbato2Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, ItalyUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Milano, ItalyUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Milano, ItalyThis article investigates how the design of policy reforms can influence their implementation, analyzing the case of initial teacher education and training (ITET) reforms in Italy. It addresses the following question: To what extent can the design of policy reforms, as codified in legal texts, help explain subsequent implementation failures? Building on a framework that draws together insights from the policy evaluation literature and the policy analysis literature, it focuses on three key dimensions of design as reflected in legal texts: precision, internal coherence, and external coherence. The framework is applied to a within-case comparison of five major ITET reforms enacted between 1989 and 2019. The study, conducted through qualitative text analysis and process tracing, reveals how unclear policy goals, internal inconsistencies between objectives and instruments, and especially misalignment with recruitment systems as well as financial and administrative capacities undermine implementation. By bridging evaluation and design perspectives, the article offers an ex ante approach to understanding how policies-as-written can anticipate implementation failures.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2025.2498257Policy designimplementation failureex-ante evaluationprocess tracingadministrative capacityeducation policy |
| spellingShingle | Anna Malandrino Maria Tullia Galanti Giovanni Barbato From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation Policy Design and Practice Policy design implementation failure ex-ante evaluation process tracing administrative capacity education policy |
| title | From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation |
| title_full | From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation |
| title_fullStr | From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation |
| title_full_unstemmed | From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation |
| title_short | From paper to practice: how reform design shapes implementation |
| title_sort | from paper to practice how reform design shapes implementation |
| topic | Policy design implementation failure ex-ante evaluation process tracing administrative capacity education policy |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/25741292.2025.2498257 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annamalandrino frompapertopracticehowreformdesignshapesimplementation AT mariatulliagalanti frompapertopracticehowreformdesignshapesimplementation AT giovannibarbato frompapertopracticehowreformdesignshapesimplementation |