ABSTRACT
In policy research, theory development along different paths has yielded insights into politics, policy processes, and the ability of policy changes to penetrate the educational system. Research has also identified how cultural, gender, and class-related boundaries have not equated well with achieving success for many within the institutional structures controlled by the state. Institutional structures often reinforced dominant views and ensured a comparative advantage for some over other groups in economic, political, and social spheres. The lenses are compared in terms of the research designs that would typically be used, unit of analysis, research goals, and primary strengths and weaknesses. By focusing on individuals that have been marginalized historically, these lenses provide close-up understandings of policy development, implementation, and impact that are contextualized. Postmodernism has been instrumental in identifying limitations of policy analyses that focus primarily on those in positions of power.
