ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that elite policy actors and the obscure policy arenas in which they operate have altered how policy is made, reframed educational problems into broader political issues, and defined types of policies that are considered viable and, consequently, what is possible in the future. Public policy that concentrates wealth and political influence to a few elites also causes widespread disruption to non-elites, even as it encourages more of the same types of policies. Policy dominance by elite actors, restricted policy making venues, shared experiences that reframe educational problems as economic ones, and the elite preference for consensus on what constitutes reform creates a political feedback loop. The community control and decentralization were considered promising governance reforms, and accountability reform meant holding politicians and lay leaders accountable for their political choices through the ballot box or by public activism.
